That's What's Left
by Jimli
Summary: Vergil falls for a girl; a happy start until a job is botched, and he is lost. Jade, now alone, takes a job on Fortuna to care for her new son. But things there aren't what they seem, and her disappearance years later leaves Nero alone. When strange things begin plaguing a teenaged Nero, he contacts Dante, the uncle he never knew for a mission to save the family they both care for.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: 8/5/13:** For anyone who has already read this story, there is no new chapters or content. I am merely editing out some punctuation errors and improving dialogue sequence flow in ways I learned only after posting. If you wish to re-read, by all means, do so, I am always up for the attention. And reviews, I simply adore reviews. I hope that it is a smoother story. Jimli :D_

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_**A/N: **__Hello, everyone! So this is a new story, and it promises to be a long one. There are different parts, most of which are broken into different chapters. Different parts will be narrated by different people, and there are flashbacks. Hopefully, everything will flow smoothly. There will be lemon, there will be violence, there will be OCs. I will give specific warnings for each chapter. As always, please read and review, even if it's to say you hate it or are indifferent to it._

_Some language. Bit of a lime at the end of this chapter. More like lime zest, really. ;P Oh, and I'm sorry the first chapter here is short._

_Naturally, I still don't own Devil May Cry, and you know?, it's starting to look like I never will. Strange._

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**Kisses, Soft and Sweet - Part I**

**Chapter 1**

He plopped down in front of me.

"I want you to stare at me the way you stare at my brother."

I ducked my head, embarrassed; he was right, I _was_ staring at his brother, unashamedly until this one had called me on it. I glanced at him, the way his blue coat fell open, the close way his clothes fit, his handsome features, identical to his brother's of course, the slight smirk twisting his mouth, his cold, ice-blue eyes, the soft spikes of his white hair. Undeniably as stare-worthy his twin out on the dance floor, whose body was writhing to the pounding music, undulating against the blonde and the redhead he'd been flirting with all evening.

I looked back at the blue twin. He had a bottle of Jack that was obviously exclusive, a third of the way gone, and he was tipping another shot of it into his glass. He knocked back the whiskey right after pouring it and set the shot glass back on the table. His eyes had never left my face.

"Last time I checked, it wasn't a crime to stare at an obviously handsome man like your brother. Maybe rude, but not illegal."

"Not intelligent, either."

"Beg your pardon?"

"All three of us," indicating his brother, himself, and me, "know that it will not accomplish anything, so the effort is foolish." He poured another shot and slammed it back. "You're not his type, and perversely, you would refuse him anyway."

"How do yo-"

He grunted, amused. "He's not interested in someone like you, your timidity puts him off."

"What mak-"

He snorted, somewhat less amused. "You are sitting in a dance club wearing more cloth across your generous breasts than those women are wearing over their entire bodies, as well as a knee-length skirt. You sit by yourself, sipping at a rather tame mixed drink," he poured and drank another shot, "and every male that has bothered to speak to you has been turned away with decisiveness, somewhere between disdainful scorn and apathetic disbelief for every compliment given. Dante is not interested in a woman like you, and as even he knows, if he did proposition you, you would either accept in disbelief, requiring constant reassurances from him, or you would refuse, too aware of such a thing yourself. Why would he work that hard for a woman he does not want to keep, when others are easier to obtain and require no further effort on his part?"

He fixed another shot, swallowed it, and chased it down with its own twin. I flushed, partially embarrassed, and partially angry. Yeah, he was probably right, but that actually made it worse instead of easier to hear. I glanced back out at the floor, glimpsing the red twin. He was dancing much closer to the blonde, although he hadn't quite relinquished the redhead, either. The blonde was certainly getting the majority of his attention, and his eyes carried that distinctive "bedroom" look. The blue twin calmly put away some more shots, waiting for me to look back at him. The bottle was nearly empty now.

"I have been watching you watch my brother all evening. I have fully and accurately explained why it's a waste of your time and effort, woman. _I want you to stare at me the way you stare at my brother._"

I looked back at his face, a little intimidated by his intensity. He smirked, amused again. I screwed up my anger and courage as he poured another shot.

"Having given me your expert analysis, why would you want me to look at you like that? Surely _you_ wouldn't want some baggage-laden burden, so why the fuck would you come bother me over staring at you instead?"

He drank the shot before answering.

"I find you attractive. I wanted to know if the intensity of your attention would further arouse me."

Impulsively, I grabbed the shot he'd just poured, sucking it down myself, knocking the glass back onto the table in front of him. 'Timidity' he'd said; boy did that rankle. He poured the last shot, knocked it back, and knocked the glass down on the table, upside-down. I opened my mouth to say something but stopped when I noticed his brother saunter over towing the blonde. He grabbed his twin's shoulder, pulling at him gently.

"Come on, Vergil. Time to go." My hitherto companion rose amicably, and they left, leaving me and the redhead floundering. I waited until I was relatively sure that they were gone from the street as well before leaving for home.

The next night found me at the same club, almost warily watching for the twins, instead of eagerly awaiting Dante. My mind was wandering, trying to dump my workday, when a presence at my table snapped me back to reality. It was Vergil.

"I did not know if I would find you here or not. I wish to apologize for my behavior last night. I was...drinking, and I should not have acted thus towards you. I wish to make amends."

I blinked, then shrugged. "It's not really a big deal. Truthfully, it was probably the most honest thing that happened in the whole place. I'm not offended or anything, and even if I had been last night, I got over it. Sorry about the stalker mentality with your brother. I don't know why they let me out of my cage most times. A friend of mine was kind once, said I was 'socially awkward', but I figure he actually meant 'nucking futs'."

He smiled, a soft sort of thing that still somehow looked dangerous.

"Would you allow me to take you to dinner in atonement?"

I laughed. "Atonement? Really? Sure, sweetie, if it'll make you feel better about the whole thing, but only because I miss hearing a vocabulary like yours." I frowned. "Er, sorry about the pet name. It's kind of a common practice where I'm from, and I don't really mean much by it, but it slips out now and then. They ought to lose that cage key, I think. For all they know I'm contagious or something."

"Very well. It is early yet, shall we do this tonight?"

I smiled. "Sure." I got up, took his proffered arm, and we left.

I looked at the sign, written in both kanji and romaji. "Sushi bar?" I hazarded.

"Yes. Do you like sashimi?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. I suppose we'll find out."

He smiled that strange smile of his again.

We sat talking and eating until I couldn't put another piece down my gullet. I was having a lot of fun, and he was much politer, if more laconic, company than the previous evening. In fact, he seemed almost _shy_, as odd as I was finding that idea. Although he never censored me, a few of the raunchier things I said caused a faint pinking of his very pale complexion.

After dinner, I let him walk me home, all the way upstairs to my apartment. My feelings towards him were pretty warm, and I was inwardly debating on inviting him in. _What the hell._

"Vergil, would you like to come in?" I expected another one of those faint pinkings, but he surprised me.

"I do not think that wise."

I tried to mask my disappointment, but perhaps didn't do a very good job of playing it cool.

"Sure. Sorry I said anything." I looked back at him, trying to give him an easy smile. He cupped my cheek, leaned down, and kissed me. It was a very soft, gentle sort of thing. His thumb tugged at the corner of my mouth, and when my lips parted, he slipped his tongue inside. He tasted wonderful, a rich, almost spicy sort of taste. I leaned into his body, felt something warm and hard against my belly, and he pulled away. _Now_ the pink was back. He left without another word, but somehow, the silence didn't seem awkward.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: _**_Next chapter, obviously. Some stronger lime in this one. Again, it's a little short, but I try to break at logical points, so I guess it is what it is._

_Please let me know what you think._

_Disclaimer: Do not own the property, just the story._

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**Kisses, Soft and Sweet - Part I**

**Chapter 2**

A few days later, there was a knock at my door. I sighed, thinking that if it was one of my co-workers, or worse, my landlord, it was going to be a very nasty confrontation. I had already covered a shift and a half for two separate coworkers at the store, and my rent, although a little overdue, wasn't going to get paid any sooner than I had it. I grabbed a large towel, having just left the shower, and tried to marshal what patience I still had.

"Yes?" I opened the door, but not the chain. It was Vergil. I relaxed a little, smiling. "What's up, Vergil?"

His eyes briefly scanned me up and down, then settled back on my face.

"My brother decided to spend the day inebriated and entertained by a willing woman. I did not wish to be in his company for that, nor did I want to be alone. I thought of spending the day in your company, if you would like."

"Sure, what are friends for, right?" I smiled at him, but I was more than a little confused. I closed the door to undo the chain, then let him in. "Come on in, make yourself at home. If you'll give me a minute, I'll actually even get dressed."

"Did I interrupt anything?"

"No, no. I just got out of the shower, is all."

I dressed, still puzzled but not sure how to voice my question to him. I came back to my small living area and sat by him on the smallish loveseat I generously considered my "couch".

"So, is something wrong or something? Most people don't just decide to wine and sixty-nine at, what time is it? Eleven a.m.?"

"Something like that."

He sighed, clearly wrestling with something. I reached over and patted his knee.

"You know what? Never mind, it's none of my business. Wha-"

"No, you are right to wonder. It is the anniversary of our mother's death. She died rather violently when Dante and I were young."

"Ouch. I'm sorry, Vergil. What would you like to do? Do you, go visit her, or something?"

"Not usually."

We sat there for a moment.

"Hey, would you like to see a movie? Watch some TV? I have an okay DVD collection, but I know a great rental place."

He smiled. "If you wish."

"Unh-uh. If _you_ wish. This is all you, brother."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I believe you are too short for that and do not resemble me enough."

"Resemble you? Does that mean you're older, then?"

He nodded.

"Good to know," I commented absently. "You like classic horror flicks? You know, like old monster movies?"

"I don't know."

"Great! A new victim!" I hopped up, perusing my collection. I popped in Bela Lugosi's Dracula. When that finished, I let him pick the next, Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney, and struggled to get comfortable again. He lifted an arm, inviting me to snuggle up against him, and I scooted back against the back cushions so he could stretch out a little. Naturally, his long body took up most of the "couch" like that, but it was a fairly comfortable arrangement. Warm, comfortable, and extremely tired from my very long "day", I relaxed, enjoying the movie.

I went to get a little more comfortable and realized I had been asleep.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

He chuckled. "It's fine. Why did you invite me in if you were tired?"

"Well, you needed a friend, right? What time is it?" I noticed the movie wasn't playing; in fact the TV had been turned off, and none of the lights had been turned on.

"After six. I didn't want to disturb you."

"So, you've been sitting in the dark doing nothing?"

"No. I fell asleep after turning off your equipment." _Somehow, this isn't what I figured "sleeping with Vergil" would be like._ I shook the thought away and pushed off his hip to get up.

"How about some dinner, yeah?"

I looked through my refrigerator, cabinets, and freezer, wincing.

"How about I buy dinner, since I rudely invited myself over?"

I jumped a little at the closeness of his voice.

"You don-"

"I'm not going to accept 'no'."

He bought dinner from a diner that would actually deliver, and it was quite tasty. After dinner, he insisted I go to bed.

"No, I'm not going to make you go, I mean, it's fine, really."

"If I stay on your couch, will you go get some sleep?" Defeated, I nodded.

"Good night, then Vergil."

"Good night."

"You sure you don't want me to stay up?"

He leaned down, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Go get some sleep."

"Can I get one of those here?" I teased, tapping my lip. He leaned down again, giving me a sweet, soft kiss like the one a few nights ago. This time, he deepened it, pulling me to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, enjoying myself immensely. As before, though, when our bodies made firm contact, enough for me to feel his obvious arousal, he pulled away.

"That is still not a good idea," he told me as he pulled back. "Go to bed. Get some sleep." I nodded and headed to bed.

I awoke to the sound of moaning. _Vergil._ I slipped on my bathrobe and entered the living room. He was sleeping, sort of, but he was obviously having a nightmare from the way he was tossing and moaning. He let out a scary sort of growl that made me jump. I approached the couch, reached over to wake him, and his eyes snapped open. I abruptly found myself pinned to the couch, his body on top, his face frozen in rage, snarling.

"Vergil, it's just me, really, I didn't mea-"

He blinked, recognition coming into his eyes. His breathing deepened, and his body relaxed. "Of course it's you. I'm sorry for scaring you." He moved (I was a little disappointed as well as relieved) and looked at me questioningly. "Did I wake you?"

I waved my hand. "No biggie. I was really worried about you, though. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Thank you." He rose, grabbing his vest and coat. "I should go."

"No, you don-"

"I need to go home to check on my brother."

Against that, I had no viable argument, though I really didn't want him to go. His hand found my cheek again, cupping it in that now-familiar way. I leaned into his touch, smiling. He reached down to give me another one of those teasing, soft kisses. I relished the way his tongue slid around mine, caressing it. I pressed against him, wanting so much more. He slid a hand under my bathrobe, grabbing a breast, rolling his thumb over the nipple. It hardened, and I felt him do the same. I moaned into his mouth, needing more. He pulled away, reluctantly, it seemed.

"This...isn't...I shouldn't..."

I kissed him again, not wanting to hear that what we obviously both wanted was not a good idea. His hand slid from my breast downward. I squealed into his mouth when he touched my very sensitive parts down there.

"You're wet," he murmured, barely pulling his lips from mine to speak. Embarrassed, I ducked my head. Unfortunately, that moment was all he needed to reaffirm his 'bad idea' mentality. He pulled away, shrugged gracefully into his coat, and left before I could rectify my mistake. Cursing myself, I stomped to my bedroom, knowing I'd have to do for myself what he hadn't let himself do.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: _**_All righty, then. Chapter 3. Some language, and a major lemon towards the end. As per usual, for those who which to skip the lemon, I'll have place markers. Stop at *80*, restart at *:D*._

_Let me know what you think of the story! Jimli ;P_

_[Insert disclaimer here.]_

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**Kisses, Soft and Sweet - Part I**

**Chapter 3**

A couple of weeks later, I came home, dripping wet from the sudden downpour, and angry over my shitty job, which, unbelievably, had become even shittier. Muttering dark curses (most of which included acquiring voodoo dolls and rusty pliers), I barely noticed my surroundings as I approached my floor. I had to climb the stairs, because _of course _the elevator had been out as well, and my landlord joined my boss and co-workers in my ranting, violent tirade. Still seething, I shoved my key in the doorknob.

"FUCK MY BISCUITS RAW!" I screamed as the key snapped. A chuckle behind me did not improve my temper. I whirled, prepared to give the offensive prick a piece of my mind.

"Vergil," I breathed, recognizing him. My anger melted instantly, leaving a hollow void. I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his warm chest. Tears spilled unbidden down my cheeks when his arms came around me.

"You would not _believe_ the day I've had, Vergil. My boss is screwing the other cashier, so she's getting some of my hours, but I'm doing more work than she is during our mutual shifts, and I'm getting blamed for anything that gets fucked, 'cept her, of course, and the others won't cross him to stick up for me, the spineless fucks, and it started raining, then pouring, and I couldn't afford a cab, and the godsdamned elevator was broken, and my rent's due, and now I've broken MY EVERLOVING KEY IN MY EVERFUCKING KNOB!" I paused for breath, calmed by his presence.

"I'm so glad you're here! Do you know voodoo?"

He started laughing, this warm, rumbling sound that felt nice. He reached around me and popped the knob, the piece of broken key falling out onto the carpet. I frowned.

"How did you do that?"

He shrugged then led me into my own apartment. Suddenly, I remembered myself. Wiping at my tears, I smiled.

"I'm so sorry, Vergil, you didn't come here to have my problems dumped on you. What's up?"

He frowned.

"Why shouldn't you dump your problems on me? Am I not your friend? Is that not what friends do, share their problems? Why should I expect you to listen to mine, if I ignore yours?" He smiled, a bit of a smirk, really, but what passed for a smile for him. "How about you shower and change. I shall make your favorite cocoa."

I nodded.

When I finished my shower, I dressed in some comfy clothes and went into the living room. True to his word, he had cocoa, two mugs, piping hot. I smelled mint, saw the marshmallow cream floating in mine, and what seemed like half a bag of marshmallows wedged in his cup. He brought it to his lips plucking a marshmallow skillfully out in a very arousing way. I plopped onto the couch next to him, sniffing my mug before carefully sipping at it.

"So, I dumped my day at your feet, what brings you to my neck of the woods, anyway?" He scowled, but not at me.

"A...friend of my brother's is at our shop. I do not care for her. Truthfully, she offends me in ways that are hard to explain. I respect that she and Dante are friends, however. When she is around, I leave. Yours is the only other place I have."

"You live at your shop, right? You and your twin?"

He nodded, sipping at his mug. "Naturally, you see the issue."

I brightened. "Sure! You know you can stay here whenever, for however long. In fact, I have something for you, although I dare say it's useless now."

I rose from the couch and opened a drawer in the small table by the door. I pitched a keyring at him, which he caught with effortless grace. He pinked a little.

"Surely I cann-"

"Yes, you can, especially after you were waiting in that atrociously gross hallway for me. Although, like I said, I'm not sure how much good it will do you if I broke the knob or something."

He stood, moving towards the door. After a few experiments with the key, he determined that the knob was fine, and his key worked like it should.

"Do you have another key?"

"Sure. I keep it on my spare ring in my room. Two keys came with the apartment. I had that one," pointing at the one in his hand, "made without the landlord's permission," I admitted, blushing. "See, I would have given you my spare, but I couldn't find it. Finally, I just had that one made, then, wouldn't you know it, I all but tripped over the spare. Figures, huh?"

He half-smirked. "Indeed."

We got comfortable on the couch again, sipping cocoa and chatting about little things. When my cocoa was gone, I broached the subject of Dante's friend again.

"So, how long will this friend of your brother's be at the shop?"

"Probably a few days."

"You want to crash here?"

"That-"

"So help me, you'd better not say that is not a good idea," I growled.

He chuckled. "That is actually why I came by, to ask if I could stay here while she is at the shop." His expression grew dark. "I hope my idiot twin does not let her stay in my room."

"Knowing your idiot twin, isn't she more likely to stay with him?"

He chuckled again, darkly this time. "No; again, for complicated reasons, but no, Dante will not sleep with her, though sometimes I believe she wishes him to."

I shrugged, snuggling against Vergil.

"You bring things? A change of clothes, whatnot?"

"No, I must fetch them. I wished to ask you before cavalierly bringing my things."

"Well, you've an open invitation and your own key. Come over when you want."

He smiled and kissed me on the temple.

"I had better go fetch my things, then."

I let him up and watched him go, smiling, feeling so much better than I had coming home. _If I don't watch it, I'll be in love with him. Unless, I already am?_ I frowned, then gathered the empty mugs, taking them back into the kitchen. _Surely not._

When he returned, he was in a somewhat fouler mood than he had been, but he didn't want to talk about it. He assured me with his famous half-smirk that no, she _wasn't _staying in his room, nor Dante's, but refused to say more about the situation. I shrugged it off, figuring that if he wanted to share, he knew he could. I put in another classic horror flick, and we snuggled on the couch.

About halfway through the movie, he started caressing my hip, sliding his hand up and down almost absently. It was very sensual, and I was wondering what to do about all the warm knots it was creating deep in my belly.

"Vergil," I started.

"Hmm?"

"Vergil, I know that you keep saying it would not be a good idea, but you're really driving me crazy, here." I placed my hand on his. "Please?"

He looked at me in a curious sort of way.

"I...There is a reason I have restrained myself from doing anything with you."

Slightly irked, I snorted.

"If that's restraint, then I-" I cut myself off. I didn't want to start a fight. I smiled at him and slid my hand inwardly up his thigh. "I really, really want to. I want _you_. Every time we've kissed, I've wanted you. I don't think it's a bad idea, in fact, I think it's a great idea, and you have never explained why you don't. Please, Vergil, don't you at least owe me an explanation why you kiss me like you want me, then shut us both down?"

He sat up and became quiet, perhaps even a little angry. I waited, wondering if he were even going to answer my question.

"I'm not what you think me to be. I do not feel right being intimate with you without your knowing what you're getting involved with. I care for you; I treasure our relationship. Yes, I want you, but I have not wanted to risk losing you because of what I am."

_Shit. He's a mafia hitman or something. Yakuza. Or maybe freelance, he and his brother. Their rather secretive 'shop', the reluctance he has sharing his life with regards to work and his other friends and acquaintances, the odd hours he keeps. His sword he keeps with him at all times. Shit, I know how to pick them._

"Mafia? Yakuza, I guess, since you carry a Japanese sword?" I asked lightly. "Hitman for hire, right? Killer without a conscience?" I giggled, trying to sound amused, but I got the impression that I wasn't fooling him. His smile, not a smirk, a _real_ smile, was a lot less comforting than a smile should be. It was, in fact, bone-chilling. My half-hearted humor died.

He cupped my cheek, moving in for one of those soft, sweet kisses. I was trembling as he slipped his tongue in my mouth. I still wanted him, wanted that kiss to go on, leading to more and more. He pulled away, smiling that deadly cold smile again.

"No. My brother and I are something...worse than just killers without conscience." He closed his eyes, obviously steeling himself. He changed, transformed. I gasped, eyes wide. His eyes snapped open.

"We're devils," his voice echoed oddly, the normal tone surrounded by a reverberation. I felt the sensation of the changed flesh of his transformed hand still on my cheek. I stared at him, still feeling his soft kiss on my lips, trying to wrap my brain around what I was seeing. My eyes drifted back to his face. I opened my mouth to speak, but he moved forward, catching it in a kiss. He was aggressive, passionate. He pushed me onto my back, hands roving my body. He barely pulled his mouth away, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.

"Do you still want me?" It was almost a taunt, but I nodded.

"Yes, I, I still want you."

He smiled again, that cold, scary look somehow not any scarier now than it had been when his face was human. His mouth caught mine in another aggressive, demanding kiss. He shifted his weight, pinning me firmly to the couch.

_***80***_ The claws on the ends of his armored fingers tore at my clothes, ripping the material in little strips, grazing my skin. I shivered, liking the scratches. His mouth possessed mine, pulling and sucking at my lips, then he worked down my jaw to my throat. One hand slipped carefully between my thighs, caressing the very sensitive parts there. I bucked against his hand as he played with me, stroking, rolling my clit between his fingers, pushing those same strange fingers inside me. He growled at my movements, then his hand moved, reaching for whatever his clothes had become, I suppose. Soon enough, his flesh lay against mine, my clothes regrettably torn away, his removed. His hands found my breasts, then my ass, squeezing each hard, eliciting more moans, squeaks, and squeals of delight and pleasure from me. He worked his way downward, kissing and biting my throat, collar, breasts, belly, lower. My hands, so busy caressing his body, now found him nearly out of reach. As his mouth found my womanhood, all my hands could do was tangle in the soft spikes on his head and push him into me. I moaned with every thrust and lick, trying to buck against him, but he held my hips still, bruising them in the effort.

"Ver,...Vergil," I breathed. His mouth crashed onto mine again, his hips wedged between my own.

"Mine. Say it."

"Mine?" I parroted. He reached down, pinching my nipple painfully.

"Say it. _Mine._ You're mine."

I understood that time; I nodded. "Yours, all yours."

He pinched again, his mouth against my throat, growling this time. "_Say it._"

"I'm yours, Vergil, yours. Please, please, now?"

He purred, caressing the breast he'd been abusing before thrusting himself inside me.

He growled, sliding in and out. I picked up the rhythm, enjoying it more and more as the pleasure increased. He caressed, kissed, moaned, growled, and purred. He sped up as I cried out in ever-increasing pleasure. I clawed at him, digging my fingers into the flesh between his wings, and my heels into his ass, trying to thrust him farther, harder, faster, deeper. I came, arching against his form, and he followed, pushing me back into the cushions.

_***:D***_ We lay there for a moment, occasionally kissing, breathing hard. His wings, scaly like his skin on top and velvety on the inside, fluttered. The whispering sound they made was amusing to my still-euphoric mind, and I started giggling, thinking of dark fallen angels. He nuzzled at my throat.

"_Mine,_" he growled. I nodded, sleepy now.

"All yours," I whispered before falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: _**_Adult language, because Jade has a very coarse vocabulary._

_As always, let me know what you think!_

_A heartfelt thanks to Be Rose, not for the first time, nor for the last. You know why. ;) Jimli_

_Naturellement, I do not own Devil May Cry, or it's wonderful characters. I merely borrow them and return them, mostly unharmed._

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**Kisses, Soft and Sweet - Part I**

**Chapter 4**

For the next handful of months, he stayed off and on at my place, and his former reluctance at lovemaking had evaporated. He rarely 'triggered', as he called it, when we were together; usually only if I begged him. I was as desperately happy as I'd ever been, now that I was in love.

I still hadn't been let very far into his world; I knew that his brother Dante knew he had a girlfriend, but I still hadn't been formerly introduced, and I knew none of his other co-workers or friends. He never called the shop from my phone, nor called me from the shop; instead, he always used his cell phone. Vergil's cell rang one morning, waking us both.

"This had better be good, Dante." He reached for me, pulling me against his hip, snaking his arm around my waist. I smiled at him, still sleepy. I'd pulled a double at the store yesterday, despite having been sick yesterday morning. I kissed his chest, preparing to go back to sleep.

"Why can you not take the job? You know I can't stand the woman." He frowned. "Why can you not do that ritual?" He sat up, clearly unhappy.

I rose up too quickly, and my stomach revolted. I dashed to the bathroom, missing Vergil's next comment to his brother. I emptied my stomach into the toilet, watching the doorway. I felt vaguely disappointed when he didn't come to the door; every other time I'd been sick, Vergil had come to check on me and help me up with concern in his ice-blue eyes. I cleaned myself up and shakily went back into the bedroom. He was dressing, anger rolling off his body in waves.

"My brother _insists_ that I go on a job with that _woman_. He says he cannot do the ritual involved. I hope this isn't some ridiculous ploy to create a relationship between her and me, but the job needs to be done. I shan't be gone longer than necessary. Call my cell phone if you need me." He looked up, his smile fading as he looked at me.

"Have you been sick again?" he asked softly. I nodded.

"Go to the doctor. Find out what's wrong. It concerns me how long you've been feeling poorly." He came towards me, cupping my cheek and giving me one of those soft, sweet kisses.

"I wish I had time to make love to you. Unfortunately, there are things I need to pack at the shop. Take the next three days off from work."

I shook my head, but he picked up my phone, dialing.

"Leeann... Yes, it is I... No, she's not feeling well. Tell your boss she is taking the next three days off... Thank you... Yes, I will tell her."

I scowled at him.

"Leeann wishes you to feel better soon. Do not go back to work until the fourth day. Go see the doctor. I will have your word on this, or I will call Dante." To demonstrate his seriousness, he picked up his cell again. I nodded.

"You win. I'll make an appointment. I'll skip work for three days." I grinned. "But you owe me Vergil. _You'll _have to take off work. Play hookey."

He smiled, nodding once. I watched him leave and set up a doctor's appointment for the next day. I didn't see or hear from him again.

Six months later, I stalked into Devil May Cry. A blonde woman dressed in black was perusing a motorcycle magazine on a couch to the left. Dante was lounging at a desk in the back of the room. His eyes tracked me as I waddled purposefully forward. He hitched up a grin.

"Hey babe. If you need the bathroom, it's in the back. No charge for pregnant ladies."

I stopped in front of the desk, as angry with this man as his twin had been six months ago.

"Where is he? Where did you send him? I've tried getting a hold of him all this time, waited, hoped someone would tell me something. Where? What was the job? _Where the fuck is your brother?_"

His eyes sobered, and all of the sudden, I didn't want to hear what he was going to say. I shook my head, feeling faint. My stomach churned, upsetting the baby boy inside.

"No, no. No, he's not. He can't..."

Dante caught me as my knees gave out. I burst into tears and he sat back into his chair, pulling me onto his lap and cradling me. I heard the woman speak.

"My god, is this Vergil's girlfriend?"

Dante shook his head. "Wife, to hear him tell it," he answered. I sobbed louder, not knowing that he'd called me such.

"Oh, dearie, I'm so sorry. Vergil, he was-" she started. Shaking my head again, violently, I buried myself against Dante's chest. A small, detached part of my mind noticed his smell, how it differed from his brother's. I cried harder. After what felt like years, I finally looked up at Dante and nodded.

"Okay. Tell me. He's gone, isn't he? Do, do you know how it happened? Was it quick? An honorable death?" I asked. He shook his head.

"The ritual. It went wrong; some well-meaning priest intervened at the wrong moment. Instead of casting the demon back to hell, it took the girl and the demon. Vergil and Trish, here, went through the portal as well, to try to rescue the girl. Trish grabbed the girl, leapt back through. The demon grabbed at Vergil, wounding him, he turned to fight him off, kill him. Trish saw it stab him through before it died. He collapsed, stood, tried to reach the portal. He collapsed again as the portal closed. Trish didn't know how to reopen the portal, since the rip had been caused by mistake."

I nodded, pushing away from him. I felt numb, empty. The baby kicked, waking me up a little. I mumbled my thanks and left, pushing past the blonde on the way out. I thought I heard Dante call out, but I didn't look back, nor did he follow me.

I had been laid off of my job, ostensibly until after the baby was born, but the look in my boss' eyes had suggested that my job was gone for good. Naturally, I was home when Dante knocked on my door a day later. He said nothing as he handed me a briefcase.

"What's this?" I asked after his retreating form. He paused, looking over one shoulder.

"Vergil's cut from his last job."

Anger rose in me. I was on the verge of refusing it out of spite when I saw the tear trails on his cheek. My anger melted, and I nodded at him, cuddling the case to my swollen stomach. He nodded curtly and walked out of my building.

Four weeks later, right on time, my son was born. He looked just like his father, and I saw in my mind the first time Vergil and I were together. 'We're devils' he'd told me, but I thought he'd looked like a fallen angel instead. I smiled at the nurse who had just asked me what I was going to name my son.

"Nero Angelo."

She cocked her head, then smiled. "A lovely name, to be sure. He looks an angel, he does."

I smiled wanly. "You should have seen his father."

She smiled again, obviously picking up on my emotional pain. "No doubt fallen from heaven itself."

I grinned, thinking of what Vergil would have said to such a comment.

When I was released with Nero in my arms, I tried to figure out what I was going to do now. I had spent very little of the money Dante had given to us, but it wouldn't last forever, and I was more than a little reluctant to involve Nero's uncle in my problems.

I browsed the papers for weeks, looking for a job that would provide for us, without having to find a babysitter. A small ad caught my eye one day. A teen was looking for someone to care for his newborn sister, the two of them having just lost their parents. My sympathy was running high, so I called. The boy, Credo, was willing to have us move in; the government was providing for them financially, but he attended Academy and needed someone to take care of his baby sister, Kyrie.

I visited Devil May Cry for the last time, telling Dante that I was moving and taking my baby with me. I did not take Nero with me to the shop, and Dante didn't ask about the baby. Before I left, though, he pushed a business card into my hand and offered me his brother's things. I agreed to take them, thinking I'd sort through them privately. He said he wanted none of Vergil's possessions. I nodded, figuring that having Vergil's face was probably reminder - and punishment - enough. I made some final arrangements with my landlord, packed up everything in my apartment, and moved to Fortuna Island.


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: _**_No lemons, mild language. Let me know what you think! ;P_

_Of course I don't own Devil May Cry! How silly of you to ask! XP_

* * *

**Kisses, Soft and Sweet - Part I**

**Chapter 5**

Five years later, Nero and Kyrie were preparing to start school. Credo was grown now of course, but he was a Knight of the Order, a policing branch of the theocracy. He had grown accustomed to our being there and attached to Nero and me, he gruffly admitted. I had been very amused to find out that Fortuna's government was theocratic, and that the focus of their religion was a devil named Sparda. I had heard some stories about him; in fact, the park in Capulet City, where Vergil and I had lived and Dante still did, had a statue of him. I had asked Vergil once, since he was a half-devil, if he believed in the legend of Sparda. He had chuckled a little.

_"Yes, I believe in the legend of Sparda. He turned against his own kind, betrayed his liege, sealed the portal between the demon world and the human world, and later married a human woman, who bore him two sons."_

_"Why do you think he did it?"_

_He became pensive. "I've asked that myself. I'm not sure. I can only imagine that he believed that there was something about humanity worth saving."_

I had snuggled against him. I knew from what he'd said once before that his mother had been human, his own father a devil. His mother had raised Dante and him, and when I had asked if his father had been there, he'd smiled bitterly before telling me no. I figured that his mother had survived an unfortunate encounter with the devil in question and had gone through with the resulting pregnancy.

When I'd moved to Fortuna, I had been surprised to see how much these people revered Sparda, but I kept Nero's demonic heritage to myself. Just because they loved this great hero didn't mean they'd love my half-breed son, no matter how good or heroic his father had been, or his uncle still was. After all, who knew who _their_ father had been; what if he had been some great enemy of Sparda's? I didn't know if that would stigmatize my son, but I didn't want to take the chance.

Credo had never asked who Nero's father was after I had told him that he'd died in the line of duty saving a girl, and if anyone else had been curious about the little white-haired boy growing up in Credo's household, no mention of it ever came to me. Everyone knew that I was a widow who lived there to take care of Kyrie, and Credo as well, truthfully. Nero was a bold, curious, brash little boy who somehow became the neighborhood darling. By the time he and pretty, redheaded Kyrie were ready to start school, they had most of the neighbors inviting them over to play, have tea, help with tasks and errands, or just be spoiled.

Kyrie didn't think of me as her mom, exactly, nor Nero as her brother. I hadn't wanted to take that away from Credo's parents. The four of us routinely visited their parents' graves, and I had put a small memorial stone there for Vergil, as well. I had buried an amulet of his bearing his initial there, although I had admittedly never seen Vergil wear it. Nero grew up visiting his father in the same manner Kyrie visited her parents.

Once, just after Nero's fourth birthday, he had gone missing. I had been frantic, and the neighbors as well as the Knights of the Order had gone looking for the boy. Credo had been the one to find him, after Kyrie had admitted that Nero had said something about his daddy. He had been curled up by the stone, clutching the amulet that he'd obviously dug up. I later fixed the grave, but let Nero keep the amulet.

I smiled at my son now.

"So, are you ready to start school today?" I asked him, still smiling. He scowled back at me.

"What about you?" I turned to Kyrie. She nodded happily. Nero's scowl faded when he saw how enthusiastic the little girl was. He fingered the amulet he'd insisted on wearing, though it was big for him. I led them into the school, where we were cordially greeted by Sanctus. His Holiness was apparently three-headed: head priest, head of the Knights of the Order of the Sword, and headmaster of the school. Credo had told me that Sanctus personally greeted every child and parent on the first day of every school term.

"Ah, Mrs. Redgrave, how are you today? And young Nero! You can't be old enough for school yet, can you boy?" he teased. Nero scowled again, looking at his amulet.

"Nero, don't be rude. His Holiness asked you a question," I scolded my son, frowning. Sanctus patted my arm softly.

"It's fine, I'm sure I was less enthused than he my first day of school." He chuckled. "And is this little Kyrie, Credo's sister? You're as pretty as your dear mother was." She gave the old man a neat curtsy.

"I'm going to try for the children's choir, so I dressed up. I love singing! Do you think they'll pick me Holiness?" she bubbled. He chuckled again.

"I'm sure they will." He turned back to me. "Did young Credo tell you he was promoted?" I shook my head.

"Yes, I decided to make him a captain. He's young, but he's been quite the asset to the Knighthood. I believe he'll do a fine job." He smiled down at the children. "Well, you two must be on your way. I wouldn't want you to be late for your first day of school." Sanctus looked back to me. "Will you be picking them up again this afternoon?" I shook my head.

"Credo wanted to, since he couldn't see them off this morning," I informed him, somewhat touched by his personal involvement. He nodded.

"Well, good luck to you, Kyrie. Try to have a good time today, both of you," he said before turning his attention to the next family. We walked in, leaving him to greet the next group.

The first sign of trouble came within the first week of school. Some older boys started harassing Kyrie, and Nero stepped in. When he became the subject of their taunting, he attacked them. One ended up with a broken arm, one a fractured jaw, the third Nero severely injured, rupturing his spleen and a few other organs. Aside from the considerable amount of trouble he and the other three boys got into for fighting, His Holiness expressed concerns about the violence and damage of Nero's attacks. I hesitated to admit his parentage, even in light of the situation, but Sanctus surprised me.

"Mrs. Redgrave, I understand if you are reluctant to say so, but was the boy's father, perhaps special, or unusual?"

Nonplussed, my expression gave away the answer, but he smiled reassuringly at me.

"Young Nero's father was a demon, was he not?"

"Devil," I corrected automatically. "Well, half, he said. I don't know anything about _his_ father, just that he had said he was a devil." I withheld mentioning Dante because he was alive, and somewhat known as a devil hunter. It certainly wasn't my place to tell anyone about his family.

"I see. Well, I know the boy didn't mean any deliberate harm, but perhaps it's best that this came to my attention so soon. Would you be opposed to your son attending Academy, instead of the school? While we rarely train children as young as Nero, I believe his circumstance warrants an exception. He will still receive a fine education, but we'll also train him in combat. I know that sounds odd, but with the right training, he will learn to control his obvious strength, thus preventing any more ugly incidents like this. If you like, I can even ensure that he is placed under Credo's tutelage. Credo is currently training some of our new recruits, and Nero will no doubt be more comfortable around him. What do you think? I'll let you consider this while Nero is under suspension. If you don't want to, he can come straight back here, to school."

I sat considering Sanctus' offer. He sensed my hesitation.

"I know, this seems like a big thing, sending Nero into Academy at such a young age, separating him from others his own age, but I believe he'll be fine, prosper even. Right now he's confused, feeling guilty over what happened with the other boys, not quite understanding why it happened. At Academy, there are a few others who have some demonic heritage, although none as pure as Nero's. Second generation devil powers! What an astounding find for our Order! He'll make a fine addition to the Knighthood, if he chooses that path later on, but for now, making sure he has control over himself is key."

I nodded.

"Let me see what Nero thinks of the idea. Credo, too. This is a family decision, I think, Your Holiness," I said. He waved his hand.

"Of course! I agree, very wise. Please, discuss this with the whole family, just know the offer stands for only a little while."

I stood, giving a deep nod to him before turning to go.

"One last thing, Mrs. Redgrave. Please understand, I only have young Nero's best interests at heart, but I must think of the other children, as well. It would not do for this incident to happen again. I would never condone any harm to your son, but he must not become a danger to others. You understand, of course. What if it were little Kyrie next time? Or yourself? Or even Credo, strong as he is? Nero needs to learn to control his gifts soon."

I nodded again, a little chilled at the implied warning, soft though it was.

When I posed the offer to the family at dinner, Nero was first to speak up.

"But what about Kyrie?"

"Kyrie will be fine, Nero, but she needs to stay in school. She can't go to Academy with you, even if you go," I replied.

"I don't want to," he pouted stubbornly. Something in the set of his mouth reminded me achingly of his father. Nero resembled him greatly; the shape of his face and eyes were more like mine, and the cobalt color of his eyes was several shades darker than Vergil's ice blue, but in every other aspect he was his father's son. I smiled indulgently, but Credo frowned.

"I believe His Holiness is right, Jade. Nero will need to learn some control. Why did you never tell us about his father?" He wasn't angry, more sad, or disappointed. I looked down, feeling a little guilty.

"I don't know. I..I was still grieving, really, when we first came here. I had only found out what had happened to his father a month before Nero was born. I didn't know how he would be received if everyone knew. I still don't, especially with this fight fresh in everyone's minds. I know that the people here revere Sparda, but he was kind of the exception, really. Isn't that the whole point? He's revered _because_ he was unlike his brethren? I didn't want my sweet, innocent little boy to be treated like a pariah because his grandfather was some anonymous devil, with no part of my son's or even his father's life. I still don't. Nero is just a little boy. A sweet, curious, brave little boy, who happened to be defending a friend from some bullies. I don't want him to be punished for that. Truth be told, he was doing what his father would have done, what his father and uncle were paid to do - protect humans from bad things." I was ranting a little, but Credo merely nodded.

"All the more reason for him to come to Academy, Jade. There, he can learn to do what his father did, without risking hurting himself, or those he's trying to protect." He turned back to Nero.

"How about it? Would you like to learn how to protect people? The people of Fortuna? Like your mother, and Kyrie?"

I smiled to myself. Credo knew exactly what buttons to use. It really wasn't much of a secret how much Nero liked Kyrie.

"Mama, is that really what Daddy did? Protect people?" Nero asked, his eyes wide. I nodded.

"Okay. I'll go. Can I learn to use a sword like you, Credo?" Nero asked, turning back to Credo. He chuckled.

"Yes. Eventually," he promised. Satisfied, Nero finally nodded at me, and we finished dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: _**_Mild language. This is the last chapter of Part I. Part II won't be as long as this was, and Part II has the first voice change, for reasons that will be clear at the end of this chapter._

_Let me know what you think!_

_No, I still don't own the property rights. I did put it on my Christmas list, though, *crosses fingers*. ;P_

* * *

**Kisses, Soft and Sweet - Part I**

**Chapter 6**

Five more years passed before I came to regret listening to Sanctus and Credo. Nero came home from Academy shaken.

"What's wrong my angel?" I grinned, hoping the familiar pun would bring a smile, but when he turned to me his eyes were a little too wide.

"I...I started some new stuff at Academy today. I don't like it, and I don't like the teacher."

"Why? Did something happen?" I asked, concerned. He shook his head.

"Not exactly, Mom, but I had to do a physical, and Sir Agnus, the teacher, he asked me weird questions, and did stuff, said stuff. He said he was testing my psychological profile, but it seemed like he was just trying to piss me off."

"Language, Nero," I scolded, though not as harshly as I normally would.

He scowled. "Sorry, Mom."

"What kinds of things did he ask?"

"Just weird stuff. About my father, you, how I felt about my adoptive family, Fortuna, fighting. He wanted to know if I liked fighting, or if I had ever been really mean to anyone, or hurt anyone."

"What did you tell him?" I asked, carefully keeping my voice neutral. He shrugged.

"I told him I didn't know Dad, that he'd died before I was born. I said that I loved you," he grew a little pink admitting that, "that I thought Credo was the best, and that Kyrie was my best friend." His pink deepened a little. A sharp ache for Vergil ran through my heart. "I told him about the fight I'd had before I joined Academy. He wanted all the details. I kinda lied, told him I didn't remember much, but he pressed me for everything he could anyway. I told him that I wasn't mean, and that I didn't want to hurt people, I wanted to protect them." He looked up at me again. Well, being a somewhat short woman, and my son taking after his tall and broad father, he actually was taller than I, even at ten.

"He _did_ make me angry, Mom. And I, I got this weird feeling when I got angry. This shaky, electric feeling in my arm." He absently touched his right arm as he spoke. "I grabbed it, and he noticed. He _looked_ at me, like...like a snake does a rabbit. He scared me." His eyes flashed with anger. "I _hate_ being scared."

I nodded, opening my arms to offer him a hug. I debated on whether or not I should try to contact his uncle. Nero hesitated a moment, then he accepted my hug. I decided to hold off trying to call Dante. After a moment, Nero pulled away, gave me a smile, and went to his room.

When Credo came home, I privately relayed Nero's concerns to him. He didn't _quite_ brush me off, but he assured me that Agnus was a creepy sort of fellow, though harmless enough, and that nothing sinister was going on. Despite Credo's assurances, I was still concerned and considered calling Dante.

What would I say? _'Hey Dante, this is your twin's widow. Say, I know you haven't heard from me for ten years, and you've never even seen your nephew, did you know he was a boy? No? So sorry, but anyway, I think he's going through something "unique" to your side of family. You want to come to the island and give me a hand?' _I snorted to myself. No one would go for that. I decided to go to Academy the following day and speak with this Agnus fellow. If that didn't help, I'd talk to His Holiness. I nodded to myself, feeling better about the situation already.

After much runaround the next day, I finally found myself outside a laboratory, prepping myself to speak with this Agnus. I was picturing a nerdy little fellow and was surprised and intimidated by the large, broad man who answered my knock.

"Sir Agnus?" I kept from stammering, barely, though in hindsight, it probably saved me a little trouble.

"Mrs. Redgrave. P-P-P-Pleased to m-m-meet you. I understand you had something you wished to d-d-d-discuss?"

I nodded, and he graciously led me to a back office.

"P-P-P-Please have a seat."

"I'll get to the point, Sir Agnus. I am concerned by how much you disturbed my son yesterday. No doubt it was unintentional, as you seem to be an intense sort of fellow, but I must ask if you could try to keep in mind that Nero, unlike most of the Academy students, is still a young boy. He's very impressionable, and a devoted and dedicated man such as yourself can be very intimidating to a ten year old." I smiled, hoping I had been artful and polite. He smiled himself, and I saw what my son had meant about feeling like a rabbit being stared down by a snake.

"I was hoping to disturb him; you see, I n-n-need to see what kind of p-p-power the boy has. Such a powerful bloodline, into the second generation. That sort of power needs to be harnessed, m-m-made to work for the Order's n-n-noble cause! So young to have that m-much p-power! That Credo, he has trained him well, yes, but he hasn't _begun_ to tap the p-p-p-potential of the boy's d-devil! Think of it, all the power of the Savior's blood, controlled by the Knighthood! He will be our b-b-best asset, our greatest weapon for the cleansing envisioned by His Holiness! Impressionable? Yes! All the better to m-mold, shape to the Knighthood's will, make him the weapon we n-need! If only we could have had the Savior's sons at this young age, but the boy has much better p-p-potential having come to us so young!"

I was horrified by what I was hearing, especially when he'd used some of the same phrases that Sanctus had when he was trying to convince me to send Nero here, into this snake's pit. Agnus turned back to me, not quite as though remembering me at last - more like my usefulness as an audience had come to a close.

"Too b-b-b-bad that there is one influence greater than the Order's for the b-b-boy, one which could have been a p-p-p-problem, were it not for your m-m-motherly concern. Now, however, I can n-n-n-neutralize that influence."

I jumped up to rush out the door, but he grabbed me, dragging me towards a large painting at the back of his office. He ripped it aside, revealing a passageway. He dragged me along, heedless of my thrashing and screaming. We reached another door which he opened with a passkey of some sort and the shock of what was in that room even stopped my escape attempts momentarily. There were large containers filled with fluid, most of which contained bodies, some human looking, others demonic. Some had body parts instead, floating eerily in the softly bubbling fluid.

"Yes, m-m-m-magnificent, isn't it? The true work of the Knighthood. Keys to resurrecting our beloved Savior!" He sounded proud, triumphant even, but I was horrified at the tableau. He proceeded to drag me back to an empty tube next to one in which an old man floated. I looked at the figure, his long white hair and beard floating in bluish fluid, obscuring his face. Agnus giggled, a high, somewhat girly sound that chilled me through and through.

"Welcome to the honeym-m-moon suite," he said, indicating the vacant tube next to the unfortunate fellow. A cluster of bubbles fluttered through the man's long hair, revealing his face. I gasped, eliciting another giggle from Agnus. The man in the tube wasn't old at all: _he was Vergil_.

I wrenched from Agnus, pressing against the glass only briefly before he grabbed me and pushed me into the empty tube. I banged on the glass, cursing him. Fluid, purply in color, started flooding into the tube. Agnus tapped the glass, and I snapped my terrified gaze to him.

"Don't worry, _Mrs. Redgrave_. Relax and the fluid will shut your body down. An everlasting sleep n-n-next to the father of your child, the ultimate key to his grandsire's glorious resurrection!"

I started screaming at the madman again, but true to his word, the fluid came up, flooding my senses, and I fell into darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N: _**_Some language. No lemons, mention of 'solo'. Mild violence._

_This is Part II. There is a change in narrator, and this part has only one chapters._

_Let me know what you think!_

_Disclaiming will now commence... "I disclaim the ownership of this property."... Disclaiming now concluded. XD_

* * *

**Black Angel, Blue Devil - Part II**

I remember some really random stuff. When I was pretty little, I asked Mom about my dad. Kyrie knew about her parents; Credo had seen to that. Mom had insisted that he tell her crap about their folks. Maybe it hurt him to remember, but he told Kyrie anything she wanted to know about her mom and dad. Mom was always pretty tight about stuff about my dad. I know it hurt her losing him, but if Credo had to share, why didn't she? It just didn't make sense.

I used to have this funny dream when I was little. There was this monster, a big, blue monster. He was scary, with this really wicked grin, and sharp claws. He had great big wings, and he sounded funny. The funny thing about this dream? I wasn't scared of the monster. This was a good dream. The monster would play games with me, like tag, or hide-and-seek. I loved the monster in my dreams. As I got older, I had the dreams less, and I missed them, I guess, but then they started to fade, until I barely remembered them.

I had other dreams, bad ones, with other monsters. They were kind of like my monster, but they really were scary. Those monsters wanted to hurt me or my family. I had one of those late one night and wandered out of the house. I couldn't have been more than four or five. I don't really remember leaving my house; I think was looking for my monster. I guess I thought that my monster could kill the bad monsters. Credo found me the next evening, at the graveyard. I don't remember going there, or digging in the ground, but I had this amulet that had been my dad's. Mom had buried it because she hadn't been able to bury my father. Kyrie's parents were in the ground at their graves, but my dad's body had been lost. That tore Mom up, too. That's when I asked Mom about Dad.

"Your father was a good man. A good mate. He loved me, and he would have loved you. He worked with his brother, saving people from bad things."

"You mean like monsters?" She smiled at my question, but she was crying, too.

"Yeah, little angel, like monsters. Bad, scary, evil monsters who wanted to hurt people. Your dad was lost to us saving a little girl from a monster."

"How did he save people from the bad scary monsters?"

"Well, he was a fighter. A swordsman. He killed the monsters. That is the only way to stop evil monsters." I didn't tell Mom about my dream monster; I was afraid that she'd say my monster was bad, and that my dad would have killed him, too. I loved my monster, Blue, I called him, but I wore Dad's amulet, all the same. I figured that since my monster hadn't hurt anyone, my Dad wouldn't have killed him.

I guess I loved my father, even though I hadn't known him. Hell, it would have been hard to not love someone that my mom loved that much. I didn't even know what the guy looked like, just that Mom said I looked exactly like him. There weren't any pictures of him in our house. Mom said they hadn't taken pictures because they hadn't been together for very long. I never thought about my dad's brother, even though Mom had mentioned him. I guess I figured he must have been lost too, or else I would have met him.

Credo never tried to be a father to me or even a brother. He must have thought the same about that kind of thing as Mom had about Kyrie. Credo was my best friend, besides Kyrie. Being so much older than me cramped our friendship when I was little, but after I had been at Academy for a while, we grew a lot closer. After Mom disappeared, he and I became closer still. Mom had been there for Credo and Kyrie when they'd lost their folks, and Credo returned the favor when I lost Mom. As close as we became, though, I never told him everything.

Kyrie I love. I've loved her for as long as I can remember. Even when I thought girls were gross and full of cooties, I figured Kyrie had the fewest. I remember the first fight I got into at school. It turned out to be the last, and part of the reason that I had to go to Academy.

Some older boys came near where Kyrie and I were playing. It was one of her favorite games, this one where she was a princess, and I was her loyal knight and bodyguard. The boys started mimicking her princess accent, making fun of her. It pissed me off, and I jumped to her defense. They started jeering at me, calling me names, teasing me about my white hair, about not having a father, calling Mom rude names that I only vaguely knew the meaning of. I got really pissed, more angry than I'd ever felt. I kept thinking about my monster, thinking that if he had been there, they would've shit themselves. Thinking that if I were scary like Blue, they wouldn't pick on Kyrie, Mom, or me.

One of them shoved me; he's the one that got his jaw broken. I just swung my fist and felt the bones crack. I kind of liked the idea of him screaming in pain. The other two went for me together. I dodged what looked like the slowest punch thrown, then grabbed his arm and snapped it. The other caught my stomach with a hard punch. I doubled over, and Kyrie grabbed at him. He shoved her onto her back, and I jumped on him. I just started beating him in the abdomen, like where he'd punched me. Credo told me much later that I'd ruptured all his major organs, and that he nearly died from the internal bleeding. Kyrie pulled me off. As soon as she grabbed my arm, I turned to her, but I was still screaming at the kid. She was crying, asking me to quit. As soon as she asked, I quit, just like that. A teacher finally came running over, and while the three older boys were assisted to the infirmary, I was escorted to the headmaster's office.

Sanctus asked me what had happened, and I told him that the others had been picking on Kyrie, and when I tried to get them to stop, I'd fought them. Both Credo and Mom had always been insistent that I take responsibility for my actions, so I didn't even think about lying. Later, when Agnus asked me about that fight I lied; I told him I didn't remember anything about it. I'm not sure if he believed me, but he couldn't get much information out of me anyway. I didn't trust him, and I didn't like him. There was something about him that felt _wrong_, like the bad monsters from those old dreams.

Sometimes I wish I'd never told my mom about him, though. Everyone at Academy said she never showed up to talk with Agnus, but I'm not sure I believe that. Credo wasn't there that day; he was doing some training exercises with the latest graduates in Mitis Forest, outside of town, so I couldn't get a straight answer from him. He told me he went to the staff personally, asking what they knew, but he received the same runaround I had.

I still miss Mom. Kyrie says the feeling doesn't really go away. I figure that if she believes that, and never even got to know her parents, she's probably right. I had Mom for over ten years. Kyrie says that I threw myself too hard into my studies at Academy after Mom disappeared. She's probably right; she usually is about things.

Credo took Mom's disappearance hard, too. I knew he thought a lot of her, but I was kind of surprised at how much it distracted him. He almost missed Kyrie's Song Priestess ceremony because of Mom's disappearance. Kyrie says I'm not really one to talk about that kind of thing, since it seems like I am always so late to things, but I was sitting in the front row right on time for that occasion. Credo came in at the last minute, looking pretty concerned about something. Maybe he just felt bad about being late.

A few weeks before I was supposed to graduate, years after Mom's disappearance, I was sent on a routine sort of mission in the forest. I ran into some odd-looking demons in there. I had been taught about demons, of course. What kid wouldn't be on an island that worshipped the devil Sparda? I knew what they were when I saw them, and I had been training almost my whole life to protect people from them. I was armed with Red Queen and did pretty well against them. One of them came from my right, stabbing downward with a blade that looked like a farm implement of some kind. I brought up my sword to block, but its blade pierced through it and my arm as well. I pulled up my big custom revolver Blue Rose, and shot the bastard in the face, killing it. I eliminated the rest of them long-range.

When I went to take care of my arm, I found that something had happened to it. The blade that had pierced it had _infected_ it, somehow. I watched as these lines, like plant veins, started covering my skin. A pulsing, electric feeling ran through my body. I didn't know whether it was pain or pleasure. The veins turned bright blue, racing down to my fingers, aligning with my fingerprints, turning my palm bright blue. Not just bright like the hue, bright as though it was lit from within. The pulsing feeling ran into the veins, every beat spreading them up my arm. I was still somewhere between pain and pleasure and numbly noticed that I had a hard-on. The pulses started slowing, the change stopped just past my right shoulder, barely spreading onto my chest. I was panting, and I had jerked myself off. I cleaned myself up as best I could, wondering what in the hell I was supposed to do. I couldn't go back to Headquarters with my arm infected with demonic energy. I ripped up my undershirt, wrapped up my arm as though it were broken, and made a makeshift sling. I picked up my damaged sword and went back into town.

I told my lieutenant I was going to the infirmary after I made my report, but I went home instead. I didn't have a lot of time before Credo and Kyrie got back, and I needed to figure out what to do with my arm.

It didn't feel any different, except for this odd sense of power, like it was much stronger than it had been. I touched it with my left hand; the glowing, fleshy parts felt more or less like they always had. The reddish flesh around the glowing blue veins felt like leather armor. I was surprised at how much sensation I still had in the arm. More than my left, it seemed. I tried a few punches and noticed an increase in speed and accuracy. I wished I had my sword Red Queen; I wanted to try out my swings.

My dad's amulet caught my attention. Without thinking, I grabbed it with my right hand. My arm started glowing, pulsing, and the amulet turned into little glowing particles that my arm absorbed.

"NO!" I screamed, wanting my amulet back. A strange feeling came into my heart, and I stared at my right hand, wanting to see my father's amulet. It appeared there, intact, exactly as it had been. I squeezed it in my fist, and it reabsorbed into my arm. I picked up my toothbrush from the counter, and tried to absorb it, too. I squeezed it in my fist, but it broke instead. I went into my mom's room and found a necklace the three of us had bought her for her birthday. I squeezed it in my fist, gently, not wanting to crush it, but it just sat there.

When I reopened my hand, I thought about the look of delight on her face when we'd given it to her. A wave of grief hit me, as though I'd just lost her yesterday, instead of eight years ago. A dark sort of sadness ran through me, and my hand started glowing. I opened it and saw my father's amulet again. I lifted it, wondering what had happened to the little blue crystal heart pendant. A flash of color inside the red stone of the amulet caught my eye, and I saw that somehow, Mom's pendant was now inside the jewel of Dad's amulet, gently pulsing.

I shook my head, wishing I could make sense of this. I went back to my room, after reabsorbing the amulet. I found a long glove, red and blue, and slipped it on over my transformed arm. I hung my arm back in the sling and sat down to meditate.

I remembered Mom had told me once that Dad had been a half-devil. I had asked her if that made me a fourth-devil. She had shaken her head.

_"I don't think it quite works like that. I think that you're still considered half. I don't think the half is literal, and I don't think that it means you're part one thing, part another. I think it means more that you're something in-between the two, instead of split between the two." She smiled at my confusion._

"Don't worry, my angel, if it becomes an issue, I'm sure we can figure it out. Or call someone who'll figure it out for us."

This hadn't made much sense to my younger self, but it could explain what had happened. The demon's blade had triggered this transformation and ability, but I wasn't sure that it had caused it. The absorption ability my arm had was probably related to my own devilish nature. Dad's amulet had absorbed into me, but I could re-form it if I wanted. Dad had been demonic, devilish, so it made sense that his amulet might be, too. In that regard, not absorbing my toothbrush made sense, but it didn't explain Mom's pendant.

I deepened my breathing, looking for answers in serenity. I manifested Dad's amulet again without opening my eyes. I tried to focus on it, to connect with my father's heritage through it. Instead, I found myself in one of my old dream landscapes, a field full of my mother's favorite flowers. I looked around, feeling comfortable in this familiar place.

The sky abruptly darkened, the landscape twisted, corrupted. I tensed, became alert, wondering what was poisoning my dream world. Demons cropped up, the same odd patchwork sort that had attacked me in Mitis Forest. I tried to will Red Queen to my hand and found her damaged, just as it had been in the forest. When I dropped her, she dissolved into nothing. I thought of Blue Rose. My revolver came to me, but I had the feeling that these dream demons weren't going to fall to its bullets like their real-world counterparts had.

I shot round after round at them, reloading again and again, but they didn't stay down for long, and more kept spawning. I ran, trying to find a more advantageous place, or another weapon, or some sort of help. They pursued me, gathering in numbers. I turned, determined to stand my ground since there was no other choice. I thought of my monster, Blue, from my old dreams, realizing for the first time that he, too, must be a demon.

"No..." A voice rasped. "Not...low...demon. _Devil._..." I looked, catching sight of a battered and worn figure slumped on the ground. When I approached, he looked up, and I recognized my beloved monster. The demons were suddenly wary, not wanting to approach. Maybe we'd gone off script for them.

"Blue!" I called, using the name I'd given him as a child. I wrapped my arms around him, and my right one started glowing. I helped him to his feet, supporting him. He noticed my arm and smiled.

"Devil..finally..manifested. Strange form, boy."

"Hey, don't talk, Blue. Where are you hurt?" He shook his head.

"Weak. Dying. Imprisoned too long..."

"Imprisoned...?" He fell half-conscious. "Hey! Don't die, Blue!" He chuckled.

"Dying slowly everyday, without...mate or nestling. Or even...idiot...brother. Here." He thrust his sword at me. I recognized it - it was a beautiful katana that rested in a dark blue sheath attached to Blue's arm. He tore it away now, wincing slightly. It took on a more conventional look once it was no longer part of him. I shook my head.

"No, Blue, I, I can't." He marshaled his strength, straightening.

"You will, boy...You cannot defeat these demons without a sword...You are trapped here until you do defeat them. Take it...Yamato is yours, nestling, my son." He grimaced in pain. " 'Black Angel', you called yourself... _Nero Angelo. Assume your birthright, nestling, so you may return._"

"Son...?" I whispered, but he had slipped into unconsciousness. I laid carefully him on the ground. The demons started creeping closer now that he was unconscious, but his words were still ringing in my ears. My monster, Blue the devil, was my father, Vergil? I touched my forehead to his.

"Vergil... Father." I whispered. He barely stirred, but didn't wake. I picked up the sword, Yamato. The demons attacked, and I mercilessly cut them all down...

My eyes snapped open. I was in my bedroom, covered in cold sweat, panting. Singing from within the kitchen told me that Kyrie was home. Across my lap lay Blue's sword, Yamato. My father's sword. I slipped to my mother's room, wanting to find something I somehow knew she had.

In a box of my father's things in the closet, I found it; a small business card with a logo and a mainland phone number. On the back, written in a strong, strangely pretty script was this:

If you ever need anything, Sister,

call me. I owe that to Vergil.

With My Love, Dante

the handyman for your dirty jobs

I slipped it into my pocket before going downstairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: _**_Language. This is Part III, almost an interlude, in some respects, and like its predecessor, there is only one chapter to it, as well as a change in narration._

_All thoughts and comments are appreciated, and will be responded to. Jimli :D_

_*INSTANT DISCLAIMER! JUST ADD DENIAL!*_

* * *

**"Devil May Cry" - Part III**

When the phone rang, I was tempted to ignore it. It was either Lady looking for money I didn't have, or someone, possibly Lady, with some shit job I didn't want. The ringing didn't stop. I slammed my foot down, knocking the receiver off the hook into my hand.

"Devil May Cry."

"Is this Dante?" A young, cocky male voice on the other end. Great. Some fuck prank-calling me again.

"Who wants to know, kid?"

"Kid? Look, old man, I'm lookin' for Dante, the handyman for your dirty jobs, according to this card. Are you him?" Shit. My password. Not a prank, then, but probably a shit job.

"I'm Dante."

"Figures. Look, old man, I don't know if you can help me or not." I almost hung up, but his hesitation caught my curiosity. I held on the line, waiting to see what he'd say next.

"My mom had this business card. You wrote on the back that if she ever needed anything, just call. That you owed Vergil." My heart froze up in my chest, but I didn't want the kid to know he'd rattled me.

"What's the card say, kid?"

"I just told you, what are you, senile? It says, 'If you ever need anything, Sister, call me. I owe that to Vergil. With My Love, Dante the handyman for your dirty jobs'. Well, I know you don't owe _me_ jack, and didn't promise me anything, but, but I think you're the only one who can help me."

"Look, kid, where's your mom? Why isn't she calling me?" My mind flashed back to a day almost twenty years ago, when I'd been asked something similar by an angry, pregnant woman. Just like she had, I knew what the kid was going to tell me before he said it.

"Mom's...Mom's gone. She disappeared over eight years ago." I frowned, pushing other feelings aside for the moment.

"I'm sorry, kid, but why are you calling me now?" He grunted in frustration.

"I don't know! Something happened to me, a lot of things, and I, I need help. I can't trust anyone here, not even Credo, right now. I think something big is happening, and I think that Mom and my father are involved. My mom told me once that she knew someone she could call if things got confusing. I think she meant this card of hers. Are you going to help or what? I don't have time to be jerked around!"

"Look, kid, I'm not sure what you know about your father, or mom, for that matter. If you are who you say, I don't know what I can do to help."

"Goddamn it! I know she meant something to you! You called her your sister, and I know she didn't have any family! If you owe Vergil, and owe her in his name, why don't you owe me, in both their names? Mom used to tell me that you and Dad helped people, strangers, because it's your job! I'm family, aren't I? Help me!" He was agitated, though quiet, but he sounded desperate. I sighed. _Family. _All the family I had left, if the kid was right about my twin's erstwhile wife; my sister, in both devil terms and human ones.

"Where are you, kid?"

"Fortuna Island." He answered, relief in his voice. "There are only a few ferries per day, though, and I figure you've missed them all. I can meet you at the port tomorrow morning, all right? Wear something so I'll know it's you." He sounded nervous now. I chuckled.

"You don't know what I look like?"

"Why should I, old man?" Irritation snapped in his voice.

"Didn't your mom tell you?"

"Tell me _what_? I have to get off the phone. I'll meet you tomorrow morning." He hung up before I could say anything else. I leaned back into my chair. I thought about what I was going to bring. No telling what kind of trouble this kid was in. Vergil's nestling. I needed to get a hold of Trish if I could and have her watch the shop for a while. Trish, the she-devil created in Mom's image. Vergil had hated her so much for that. He knew that her alliance lay with me, with Devil May Cry, but he had never understood my forgiveness of her, or my friendship with her. He had tolerated her for my sake, but he'd had nothing to do with her otherwise. Yet, if it hadn't been for Trish, Vergil might never have become involved with Jade romantically. I smiled, remembering the event.

"_Hey, Verge. Trish is coming in for a visit. She'll be here later." I informed him as casually as I could. I'd even started my game of solo eight-ball for that very effect. He scowled, barely looking up from his book._

_"I despise that she-devil, Dante, as you well know."_

_"Yeah, I know. She told me that she's going to be in town for a few days or so, working some job."_

_"I suppose you offered to let her stay here." He grunted, clearly disgusted with the idea. I looked up from my shot, curious that he'd make that assumption._

_"Actually, no, Vergil. As you said, I know you don't care for her; I suppose that I'm the only reason you haven't killed her. But she will be around the shop from time to time, visiting, so I thought I'd warn you ahead of time." I turned my attention back to my game. He frowned._

_"Invite her to stay here, Dante. The hotel rates in this city will destroy whatever money she makes from her job." He said softly. I blinked at him, nonplussed._

_"You sure, Verge?" Admittedly, I was suspicious. Vergil had changed quite a bit since he'd come to work for me, but nowhere near enough to live with Trish, even for a few days. He nodded._

_"I shall see if a friend of mine will let me stay with her. If not, I'm sure that Lady will not mind accepting some rent from me while she's working on Dumary with the Vie de Marli."_

_I grinned. A she-friend, huh?_

_"So you're going to shack up with some cutie while Trish is here, huh? Lay some sob story on her before you lay her?"_

_"You are as crude as you are daft, Dante, as always. She is a friend, nothing more." He said it convincingly enough, but I noticed that pinking of his. I took my shot._

_"Why? Not into cold, uptight psychos?" I asked casually, teasing him._

_"You have only met her once, briefly at the club. Since you do not know her, Dante, you can hardly make judgments on her personality." He retorted. I laughed, lining up my next shot. At the club, huh? She must be that babe he was hitting on almost a month ago while enjoying his Jack. I shook my head._

_"Not her, Verge. __You__. She's not into you." I corrected. He stiffened, snapped his book close, and put it on the shelf. A deeper pink colored his cheeks. Oh, this was getting interesting._

_"Oh, I get it." I said, shooting the cue ball again. "She __does__ like you. Are you playing hard to get? Can't be too difficult for you."_

_"Ridiculous, Dante." He bristled and pretended an intense interest in an old trophy on the wall. "You know why I can't have a relationship with this woman." He answered. Was that regret I heard? Surely not. I blinked at him, waiting. He scowled again._

_"She does not know what I am. I refuse to start a relationship based on falsehoods with her." He clarified, rushing the words. I shrugged, taking my next shot._

_"Why not just tell her?" I asked reasonably. He stiffened yet again, still focused on the trophy. I thought he was going to ignore me, but after a long moment he actually answered._

_"I don't want to lose her. She is my friend, and I enjoy her company." He admitted._

_"Don't you want more?" I asked, trying to keep from teasing him again. This conversation had become delicate; if I harassed him too much, he'd clam up. He grimaced._

_"I fight with my devilish nature to keep from ravishing her any time we touch or kiss." He replied. Whoa, 'ravishing', really? I frowned, eyeing my twin._

_"You kiss?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Does she like it?"_

_He smiled this bitter kind of smile I'd seen only a few times before._

_"She wants more. It...disappoints her that we never do more."_

_"Don't you think you should give her the option? Tell her you're a devil? See what she wants then?"_

_He frowned again, but before he could reply, Trish walked in. Damn it._

_"Hey, Trish!" I called, knowing that my conversation with Vergil was over. She smiled at me but hesitated somewhat as Vergil brushed past her._

_When he came back hours later, I was back behind my desk, and Trish was sitting on it, telling me about some of her latest jobs. She paused, looking nervously at my twin. Vergil looked past her to me._

_"She has graciously invited me to stay with her for as long as I need." He said. I noticed how carefully he was speaking; he probably would have said more if Trish hadn't been there. I caught sight of the key in his hand. I grinned._

_"Gave you a key, huh?" I teased, unable to resist. He stiffened, pinked a little, then went to his room to pack his duffel. Trish looked at me questioningly._

_"Vergil is staying with a girl who gave him a key to her place? Wow, is it serious?" She asked curiously. I shrugged._

_"According to Verge, no. He's staying with her while you're here."_

_"I think it's great. He could use a girlfriend." She said. I nodded in agreement._

_"I haven't met her, but I think I know who it is. He met this girl at the club and came on to her when he was drinking. After he finished the bottle, I took him home." She nodded, knowing that Vergil plus alcohol was amusing, but Vergil plus alcohol plus sexual encounter was not. "He went back the next night, apologized, and started dating her."_

_"Dante." Vergil's voice cut through sharply. "I have my things. I would thank you to not share my private life with that abomination of a she-devil. She may be your friend, and I don't harm her because she is, but she is not mine. Call me when she is gone again, little brother." I knew he was pissed, but he left it right there._

_Trish went shopping the next morning, and I called Vergil. He informed me that he'd spent the night with his girl. He sounded as happy as I'd heard him in a while. A few days later, he started living at her place as much as he was at the shop._

_He gave me some ground rules one afternoon while we were doing some research._

_"If you need me when I am at my mate's place, call my cell phone. I want her involved in demons as little as possible. I will contact you the same way, and I swear to you that I will keep my phone at hand."_

_"Mate, huh?" I asked, teasing him. He grinned, actually enjoying my teasing for once._

_"My wife. I believe after the next job, I will begin locating a house for the two of us. Her apartment is small, and it is not easy to secure." An unfamiliar look came into his eyes. "I want to start a family with my mate, Dante." He admitted, almost wonderingly. I gave him one of the few hugs of our adult lives. Predictably, he stiffened at first, but then he hugged me back._

_"I'm happy for you, Verge. You __and__ your wife." I told him with as much sincerity as I could, then I grinned. "You know you can't really call her your mate until you share a nest, bro." I was razzing him again, but he nodded seriously._

_"Yes, I know. Soon she will not just be my wife, but my mate."_

_I grinned wider. "Bearing your nestlings?" I teased, using the devil term._

_"Indeed." He replied dryly._

I shook my head. Now his wife, who'd never gotten to be his mate, had disappeared, and his only nestling, who he'd never even known of, was asking me for help. Not for the first time, I silently cursed our father, the demon world, our mother, fate, and the universe in general for fucking our family. Even a generation removed, with Jade being far from our world hadn't saved Vergil's attempt at a family.

I shoved those thoughts away and went into the armory, gathering a few things for tomorrow. I got the usual begging for attention, for battle, for blood. Devil arms, what are you going to do? I grabbed as many as I thought would be useful and went upstairs to pack a few clothes. I went to the port after getting a hold of Trish, who was happy to be running the shop for a while. Huh. She'll probably spend the next few days shopping with Lady on my tab. Damn my lousy luck with women and money.

The very first ferry out to Fortuna had my name on it, and I decided to catch a few zees. Mangled memories and images filled my dreams; they were mostly of Vergil, mixed in with imagined scenarios of his family. Not very restful. The ferry made Port Caerula on Fortuna Island just after sunrise, and I started looking around for a kid I'd never laid eyes on.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **__Thus begins Part IV. It has a few chapters to it, and I'll give the usual warnings about language for this one._

_As ever, let me know what you think! ;P_

_Oh, and a big, heartfelt thanks to all readers, favoriters, followers, and reviewers. A special one to Be Rose. :D_

_Bad news: I didn't get the rights for Christmas. My birthday is coming up in a month, maybe then I won't have to type up these disclaimers... XD Jimli_

* * *

**Mementos and Memories - Part IV**

**Chapter 1**

I hung up as soon as I noticed Credo come into the house. Kyrie's singing would have kept her from hearing me on the phone, but I wasn't so sure about Credo. I hated keeping secrets, but there was something fishy going on, and I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to believe that Credo was involved in something sinister, but as high as he is in the Knights of the Order, I knew I couldn't afford to be naïve, either.

How was I going to know Dante? Fortuna's not a big place, but I didn't know everyone, even by sight, and we have tourists all the time. I decided to look through Mom's things; maybe she had a picture, a diary, _something_ that would tell me what Dante looked like.

"Nero? I'd like to talk to you." Credo called to me from his office

"Sure thing, Credo." I answered as I walked in. He smiled and glanced at my gloved and wrapped right arm in its sling.

"I had heard there was an incident. Are you all right?" He asked. I could hear the concern in his voice and briefly wondered at its genuineness. I inwardly winced at my suspicion but I shrugged at him.

"I'll be all right. It's just a severe sprain. A few days, it'll be like it never happened." I was casual about the whole thing, mostly because I knew it really was fine, except for being demonic-looking. He smiled and nodded, completely reassured. He seemed so normal and caring that I hated suspecting him of anything, much less the evil plots I had rolling around in my head.

"Good to hear. Kyrie will no doubt be concerned anyway." He replied. "Looking forward to graduation?"

"I guess." I hadn't thought about it much with everything else happening. He chuckled.

"Same as always, Nero. I admit, I was a little worried that graduation might be rough for you. It will be the anniversary of your mother's death." He reminded me.

"Disappearance." I corrected a little stiffly. He frowned.

"Of course." He conceded. "Still, I know how much Jade was looking forward to this as an accomplishment for you." He smiled again. "I know she'd be proud. I am." I nodded, hating everything about today and wanting this conversation over with.

"Well, I'm sure that Kyrie will want time to fuss over you before dinner, so you should probably head towards the kitchen." He commented before turning to the papers on his desk.

He wasn't exaggerating. Kyrie went wide-eyed as soon as she saw the sling. I felt bad, knowing that my arm was uninjured, but I secretly wondered if she'd still be trying to coddle me if she could see my new demon arm. I shook myself mentally, wondering if this suspicious streak was going to haunt me from now on.

Dinner was as delicious as usual, but thankfully uneventful, and I called it an early night, knowing I'd need to be at the port early. After both Kyrie and Credo had turned in, I crept to Mom's room. I spent a few hours going through her things, searching for any reference to Dante. In one box, buried underneath her shoe collection, I finally found a sketch book.

The first drawing in it was the profile of a man. It was a portrait only going to the top of his shoulders. He had an aristocratic nose, an almost pretty mouth, and serious, cold-looking eyes. In the corner was my mother's handwriting:

My favorite Yakuza,

Okay, so this doesn't exactly look like you or your brother.

Anyways, this sketchbook is for your talent, not mine!

Love, your favorite Marshmallow. XOXO

Marshmallow? I shook my head. The bulk of the drawings in it were of Mom, and quite a few of them were too pornographic for my liking, but there were a few exceptions.

There was another drawing of the aristocratic man, this time full-length in a three-quarter view. He had his hair down in front of his face instead of swept back like in Mom's drawing, and the picture showed him lounging behind a desk. His mouth was set a little differently, and his eyes were almost playful instead of frigid. On the back was a date and the word "_Nestmate_". I frowned. What the hell was that supposed to mean? I flipped through more drawings of Mom, a few of a smallish apartment, some of an office of some sort, probably the same one that the aristocratic guy had been lounging in, and a couple of a city park with a statue in the center of the scene.

The very next drawing was of a different woman: a pretty, fiery blonde wearing red. She was standing next to a stuffy-looking fellow who vaguely resembled the other guy drawn in the book. They each had a baby in their arms. There were two dates, one which I assumed was the date of the drawing, as it fit chronologically; the other date was nearly forty years ago and the label said "_Sparda Family_". Sparda? The same Sparda? Had my father known Sparda, was that why there was a drawing of him in the book? Surely my father couldn't have been old enough to have known Sparda forty years ago. Could he? I shook my head. There was one more of the blonde, dated, but otherwise unlabeled.

The very last drawing was the most intriguing to me. It showed a weird mansion near a sea cliff. There were stunted, skeletal trees in the foreground, and a bunch of odd statues near the porch. The sketch kind of gave me the creeps. On the back was a date less than a year before I was born, but fairly consistent with the dates of the rest of the drawings. I checked the label on it: "_Nest_". I shook my head again.

I flipped back to the first drawing, the one Mom had done. I figured it might be my father, Vergil. First, who else would she have given a sketch pad to that she still had? I didn't know what she'd meant about the 'yakuza' bit, because he didn't look Japanese, but then, Mom hadn't been a marshmallow, either. Pet names, I supposed.

Second, besides the first drawing, none of the handwriting on the labels was Mom's, and the dates were all from before I was born. I knew that I had been born on the mainland, and we'd moved to Fortuna later.

If all that meant that this book had been my father's, then the first picture, the one she'd drawn, _was_ a picture of Dad. I looked at the business card again, but the handwriting wasn't the same there either. Similar, but not the same. Now I finally knew what my father had looked like, but not my uncle.

The two drawings of Dad would have to do. Siblings have a family resemblance, so if I knew what Dad looked like, I could probably pick his brother out of a line-up. Since Mom had mentioned that her drawing didn't look exactly like either of them maybe there was a strong resemblance between them.

I put everything back where I'd found it, except the sketchbook. I snuck back to my room, stuffed the sketchbook in a backpack that had a few other useful items in it, and crashed in bed. I was dead tired and needed what sleep I could get before morning came. My memories of my childhood dreams had been flooding back since my meditation encounter, and I thought maybe Blue - Vergil - would be in my dreams, but I woke the next morning without recalling having had a single dream.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: **__Chapter 2. I believe I was vague last chapter about how many chapters there were. I think there are four. Again, I will warn about language. What can I say? Those guys talk rough._

_Please let me know what you think - I always enjoy reviews._

_We all know I don't own this, right?_

* * *

**Mementos and Memories - Part IV**

**Chapter 2**

At the port in the morning, I started glancing around, trying to pick out a man I'd never met, using as my only reference a pencil sketch older than myself of an admittedly different man that I also had never met. Life really kicks us in the balls, sometimes. I wished I could've had Dante use some identifying clothing or something, but I'd run out of time talking with him. I shook my head, scanning faces again. When the last of the passengers had debarked, I hadn't turned up anything.

"Damn it!" I swore. I didn't even know if he'd caught this ferry, or if I'd just missed him somehow. Dante didn't know what I looked like either after all.

"Language, kid. What would you mother say?" Some guy remarked casually. I whirled, getting ready to give the guy a piece of my mind, but my comments died before they were formed. The man who had spoken was tall, broad, and wearing the better part of two or three cows' worth of leather, most of it red. He had white hair, ice-blue eyes, and a smirking mouth. I glanced at the sketchbook in my hand. Given a little age, a different expression, and a change in hairstyle, it actually looked a lot like him. He looked at the picture.

"Hmm, not bad, but as you can see, I'm the handsome one." He said, grinning. I frowned. He snatched the book, closing it briefly to glance at the cover.

"Oh, I see." He rifled through the pages to the other picture of my father, the one lounging at the desk. "Here, kid. See? The handsome one." He grinned again, shoving the book back into my hands. I looked at the picture again, comparing it to the man in front of me. The little differences between the two drawings fell into place, and so did the answer.

"You're twins, you and my father."

"Bingo, kid. Must've got your brains from your mom, 'cause I had both the looks and the smarts." He replied. I snorted.

"Whatever, old man. Come on, we can't spend all day here at the port." I turned to lead him off, but he grabbed my shoulder.

"Hold it, kid. I want an explanation. You were plenty cryptic on the phone, but I came anyway. How about you tell me what's going on?" He sounded serious for the first time, but I shook him off.

"I can explain when we get..." Get where? I couldn't take him to the house, and any public place would get us unwanted attention. "Get to the cemetery." I finished. His eyebrows went up a little, but he didn't argue.

I led him to the lonely part of the graveyard where Kyrie's folks and Dad's plot were. He knelt by Dad's stone for a moment, grazing the carved name with his fingertips.

"Your mom do this?" It wasn't really a question, but I nodded.

"Yeah. She had an amulet buried there, something of Dad's, but..." I started. He looked up sharply.

"Amulet? Is it still there?" The sharpness affected his tone, too. I shook my head, a little taken aback.

"No, I have it. Sort of. It's kind of complicated, part of the reason I asked for your help." I told him. He nodded.

"How about you start at the beginning, kid? What do you know about Vergil and me?" Dante asked, curious. I shrugged.

"Mom said that you two worked together, saving people from monsters. I guess she meant demons."

"And other things. We did exorcisms, possessions, curse breaking, and demon hunting."

"Right. Monsters. She told me that he was a good man and a good mate. That he had loved her, and he would have loved me. She told me that he was handsome, and that I looked like him. She told me that he would have jumped to the defense of a friend and protected them, no matter what. She said that he was a fighter, a swordsman. A killer of monsters."

"Vergil tried to keep her from all of that. He thought it would protect her, and his future nestlings. Keep the past from repeating itself."

"Nestlings?" I asked. He smiled.

"It's a devil term for our children. I teased Verge about always using devil terms for things, but truthfully, we both thought about things in devil terms as much as in human ones."

"Right. Mom said your dad was a devil. She didn't tell anyone anything about Dad because she was afraid that everyone would treat me different if they knew I was a half-breed."

"On _this_ island? Hell yeah they would have treated you differently, kid." He laughed. I grimaced.

"Hypocrites. They love Sparda, why should a good man like my father be any different?" I retorted, feeling bitter. Dante quickly sobered and looked at me curiously.

"You don't know, kid? Didn't your mom tell you? Unless Vergil never told her..." He mused.

"I already told you what Mom told me!" I exploded. I was tired of Dante's games already. "She was afraid, afraid that being some devil's grandson would make everyone hate me, so she never said anything else about a dead man she loved to protect a living son she loved!" I was angry, hurt by this guy so casually dismissing Mom's efforts to protect me. He shook his head, bringing his hands up in surrender.

"Kid, you don't understand. _Sparda_ is my father. Not some anonymous devil: _Sparda_ was Vergil's and my sire." He explained. Shock flooded my thoughts. The savior? Sparda, whom everyone revered? _He_ was my devil grandfather? I looked back at Dante, who nodded. "See, kid? Although your mom was probably better off not knowing. Imagine what your childhood would have been like being the living heir of their precious savior." He said, gesturing towards the rest of the island. I shook my head, unable to even imagine it. I thought back over our conversation instead.

"What did you mean by the past repeating itself?" I asked him.

"For being a bunch of Sparda worshippers, you don't know much, do you?" He quipped. "Our mom, Vergil's and mine, that is, was killed when we were young. I thought my brother had died too, but that wasn't the case. It took a lot of reconciliation before Vergil and I could work together, though." He frowned, and I wondered if there was some sort of a story there. "That's not important, now, though." He looked back at me, clearly changing the subject. "So, you don't know much about your father. Do you know how he died?"

"Mom said that she lost him, not that he'd died. She said that he was lost to her while on a case, protecting a little girl from a monster." I said.

"That's true enough." He muttered, looking faraway again. I frowned, but he sliced the air with his hand.

"Maybe later, kid. Tell me about Jade's disappearance, and why she hasn't tried to contact you or me in eight years." His tone was serious again, and I winced.

"I don't know. I was ten at the time." I gave a humorless sort of laugh. "The anniversary is just a few weeks from now, right at the time I'll graduate from Academy."

" 'Academy'? Sounds pretentious." He snorted. I glared at him, but he rolled his fingers, gesturing for me to go on.

"I had just met a new teacher at Academy, a knight called Agnus. He was supposed to be giving me some sort of psych evaluation, so he could start teaching me various control exercises for my strength. He asked me all kinds of questions about my parents, what kind of incidents I'd had, whether or not I liked the devil part of me, and the things it could do."

"Are you sure these people don't know who you are?" He queried. I shrugged then continued.

"I got into a fight when I started school, and with the damage I did to the kids, it was pretty obvious that I wasn't human. Mom had some sort of discussion with Sanctus about me, and I started Academy at five. I was ten when I met Agnus and Mom disappeared." I paused, thinking about one of the last times I had seen Mom. He frowned and rolled his fingers again.

"It kind of bothered me. Mom asked me what was wrong." I started, remembering the scene.

_"What's wrong my angel?" She grinned, and I turned to look at her, still scared._

_"I, I started some new stuff at Academy today. I don't like it, and I don't like the teacher." She frowned, concern in her face._

_"Why? Did something happen?" I shook my head._

_"Not exactly, Mom, but I had to do a physical, and Sir Agnus, the teacher, he asked me weird questions, and did stuff, said stuff. He said he was testing my psychological profile, but it seemed like he was just trying to piss me off."_

_"Language, Nero." She always scolds me about my language. I scowled, but didn't argue with her._

_"Sorry, Mom."_

_"What kinds of things did he ask?" She asked carefully, like she was afraid of giving something away._

_"Just weird stuff. About my father, you, how I felt about my adoptive family, Fortuna, fighting. He wanted to know if I liked fighting, or if I had ever been really mean to anyone, or hurt anyone."_

_"What did you tell him?" She asked. I shrugged._

_"I told him I didn't know Dad, that he'd died before I was born. I said that I loved you," I felt kind of embarrassed admitting that; I hadn't felt embarrassed then, to him, but now, to her, "that I thought Credo was the best, and that Kyrie was my best friend." I felt more embarrassed admitting that, but I hadn't want to tell him that I was in love with Kyrie. Mom got this pained expression, laying her hand on her heart. I wondered if she was thinking about Dad._

_"I told him about the fight I'd had before I joined Academy. He wanted all the details. I kinda lied, told him I didn't remember much, but he pressed me for everything he could. I told him that I wasn't mean, and that I didn't want to hurt people, I wanted to protect them." I looked at my mom. She always went on about how she wanted me to be like my dad, the good man that he'd been, protecting people._

_"He did make me angry, Mom. And I, I got this weird feeling when I got angry. This shaky, electric feeling in my arm. I grabbed it, and he noticed. He looked at me in this way. Like a snake does a rabbit. He scared me." I was angry that he'd made me afraid. "I hate being scared." She nodded at me, offering me a hug. I hesitated, not wanting her to be worried, but I saw a flash of panic in her eyes. I was afraid that if I didn't allow her to comfort me, she'd be more worried. I walked into her hug, and later, when she didn't come back, I was glad that I had; it was the last hug I ever received from my mother._

_She mentioned casually to Credo at breakfast the next morning that she'd like to talk to Agnus. He frowned._

_"I suppose you can try, Jade, but as I told you last night, he's just kind of like that. I'm sure he didn't mean to frighten the boy."_

_"I wasn't frightened!" He smiled at me, a little too indulgently for my liking. It was that indulgence that kept me from going to him later with my problems and suspicions. I would always remember that indulging-the-boy look on his face at the last breakfast we shared with my mother._

_"Of course not, though I'll admit I was afraid of the man when I first met him."_

_"Can you arrange it, Credo?" He shook his head._

_"I'm afraid not, Jade. I'm running some exercises with the graduates in Mitis Forest today. If you'd like to wait until next week, I certainly could."_

_"No, I'll just go to Academy. I suppose if nothing else, I'll talk to Sanctus. His Holiness was the one who arranged for Agnus to do these lessons, so I'm sure he'd like to know if there are any issues."_

_"Indeed." Credo agreed._

"I don't know if she went to Academy or not, because I left with Credo, and she took Kyrie to school. I never saw her at Academy, and after she didn't return, no one at Academy said they had even seen her. I know Credo talked to the secretary, Agnus, and Sanctus personally, but no one could verify that my mother had been there."

"So what does everyone say happened?" Dante asked.

"Some say that some demons might have gotten her; there were a bunch of bold attacks going on then. Some argue that she skipped out on me, tired of all the trouble I caused her." I started holding up fingers as I listed theories. "Natural accident, gotten lost, more theories even more far-fetched."

"Got lost?" He smirked.

"Yeah, well, it was fairly well-known that she frequented the woods and park around this cemetery."

"Frequented enough to get lost, huh?" He ribbed. I lost my temper.

"I told you none of it made sense! What do you want me to say?" I snapped. He put his hands back up in surrender.

"Take it easy, kid..." He started.

"My name's Nero, old man, use it!" I barked. He eyed me seriously and I noticed that cold, steely look I'd seen in the drawing of my father come into his face. I shuddered despite myself, remembering that he was a half-devil, my father's twin, and not a man to be pushed too far. I thought I heard Blue's voice laughing at my fear, and steeled myself, meeting Dante's gaze. He broke into a grin, the cold gone from his eyes.

"Damn if you aren't just like him, kid!" He laughed hard, before sobering again. "So your mom went missing. Did they search for her?"

"Yeah. They never found her; it gave fuel to those rumors about her leaving me." I answered. He nodded.

"Why not call me then, when she went missing? I might have been able to find her, or at least figure out what happened to her." His question was reasonable, but I winced; part of me believes I'll find her alive, even now. I shook my head.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't think about you. Mom had mentioned an uncle once or twice, but you weren't really part of the equation, you know?"

"Why now, kid? Some new lead on your mom? You said you thought your mom and dad were involved in what was going on. What's going on?" He pressed.

"I guess there's something else I know about my father, Vergil, that I need to tell you before that." I said slowly. He frowned, but nodded.

"When I was little, before I started school, I used to have these dreams. These dreams are some of my earliest memories. I never told anyone about them, not even Mom."


	11. Chapter 11

**_A/N: _**_Thanks to my new reviews! They so made my day! Let's see, more language warnings. I hope the first part sounds all right to everyone; just let me know what you guys think! Jimli ;P_

_Of course, I actually *do* own the rights to Devil May Cry, but I'm just crediting Capcom. You know, you have to humor the little people. ;)_

* * *

**Mementos and Memories - Part IV**

**Chapter 3**

_I'm playing in the field. It's pretty, full of flowers, the kind Mommy likes. I'm chasing butterflies. Mommy says butterflies are flying flowers. I hear a voice behind me, and I'm scared, because I don't know who it is. It's not Credo, and not Mommy, but it's a grown-up voice. I look, and I see a monster, like the ones they talk about in church stories. The monster grins at me, showing lots of teeth, and he squats down like grown-ups do when they talk to me._

_"Hello, little nestling. I'm surprised to find you here. Did someone bring you here or did you find it by yourself?" I shake my head._

_"Mommy says not to talk to grown-ups I don't know, 'less she's there. Or Credo." The monster laughs, which is a little scary. He doesn't keep grinning when he laughs, and it is a really scary sound. I step back from the monster, but he doesn't chase me. He sits down in the flowers._

_"That's very wise of your mother. It shows good sense not to trust random strangers. Your mother had a hard time learning that herself."_

_"Mommy is the best mommy in the world. She loves me and won't let the monsters get me." He nods at me, very serious._

_"Indeed." I giggle, because I think that's a funny word, 'specially for a monster._

_"What's your name, nestling?" I shake my head again._

_"Names are powerful." I tell him. I don't know what it means, but Mommy says it when she doesn't tell another grown-up her name. Or my daddy's name. The monster nods again._

_"Does your mother say that as well?" I nod. The monster sits quiet._

_"Would you believe me if I said I knew your mother?" I shake my head._

_"Mommy doesn't know any monsters." He laughs again, and I giggle, too._

_"Your mother's name is Jade. She is the most beautiful creature in the world. She snorts when she laughs. She does know a monster." I stare at the monster._

_"You know Mommy! Are you really a monster?"_

_"Yes, I suppose I am, nestling. How about we make a deal? You don't have to tell me your name, because names are indeed powerful, but I would like to spend time with you. I swear to you that I will never purposefully harm you, nor allow any harm to come to you. In exchange, I will tell you my name." I shake my head._

_"That doesn't sound fair. Mommy says I always have to play fair. I'll just call you Blue. You can call me, um. Black Angel. Will you really play with me?"_

_"Of course, nestling. Do you know how to play hide-and-seek?" I nod. "Good. Do you want to play the monster version?"_

_"Monsters play hide-and-seek?"_

_"Indeed. Monsters love playing hide-and-seek, but we play differently than people do. We use smell to track down those we're seeking. I shall show you." I run off to hide, but Blue calls me back._

_"Don't just run to a hiding place and stay. If you sense me, run again. This game is like hide-and-seek and like tag. I'm it. Do what you must to keep me from catching you." I look at him._

_"What happens if you catch me, Blue?" He grins again, pouncing at me. I am afraid at first, then he starts tickling me. I try to wiggle from him, but his arms are strong, lots stronger than Mommy's or even Credo's. He has sharp claws, but he doesn't scratch me, even when I wiggle. He only tickles me. I squeal with laughter until he lets me go. He lets me get my breath back before we start to play for real. We play, and he catches me every time. He is tickling me again when Mommy wakes me up in the morning._

_"Good morning, my angel. Did you sleep well?" I nod and look around for Blue._

_"Lose something, Nero?" I shake my head, sad because Blue was just a dream monster. I don't tell Mommy about Blue._

_Almost every night, I meet Blue in the field of flowers, and we play monster versions of lots of games. One time, the field goes dark as we're playing, and I cuddle against Blue. It feels like something bad is happening. Blue pulls his sword as a bunch of monsters pop up out of the flowers._

_"Stay near me, nestling. Do not run, no matter what happens, unless I say otherwise, understand, boy?" I nod, as scared at the way Blue is talking as I am about the other monsters. They are bad monsters, I know, and I wonder why I thought Blue was bad now that I know what bad monsters feel like. Blue hisses and growls at the bad monsters, and they come running. He slices them with his sword and I see their arms and legs fly all around. The bad monsters keep coming, but Blue kills them all, and they never touch me. When the last one is in pieces, the sky is bright again, and I see that the sky is the same color as Blue's eyes. He asks me if I'm okay, but Mommy wakes me up before I can nod._

_After the first attack, Blue starts teaching me to fight. We wrestle, fight with sticks, and box. He never hurts me bad, and never on purpose, and later, when I'm fighting the boys who teased Kyrie, I use the things Blue showed me. When Mama says that defending Kyrie is what my daddy would have done, I wonder if Blue was like him. I still don't tell Mama about Blue. Even though he's in my dreams, I feel like Blue is real, too. I have fewer dreams with Blue as I get older, and the ones I do have are shorter. As the dreams become more infrequent, my memories of them fade. When my mother disappears, I stop having them altogether until the meditation-induced dream after my arm is infected. It is then that I learn that Blue is a devil, half, to be exact, and is Vergil, my father. When I learn this, I feel more complete than I have my entire life, and it is a comfort to know that my father was somehow part of my life, and taught me so many things. I mourn the loss of my friend Blue as I come out of the meditative state, because he said he was dying, and I am afraid that I will not be able to save him. The only person I know of that saved people was my mysterious uncle, and I know I must find a way to reach him if I stand a chance to save my father and find my mother._

I had closed my eyes, not just remembering my dreams, but reliving them. When I opened them, I looked at Dante, wondering what he thought of my dreams of Blue. I braced myself to hear him say that it was impossible, Vergil was dead, so sorry, see you kid. His face was turned from mine; he was looking at Dad's grave marker.

"So Vergil's been captured all these years. You still want some help finding the fuckers who have him, Nero?"

"Yeah, I do. You think he's still alive?" I barely believed his answer.

"He couldn't have done that devil trick with your dreams if he hadn't been, kid. It's kind of a shame, in a way. Between lack of knowledge and communication, you lost years of time." He smiled, turning to face me. His eyes seemed a little wet, but I didn't see any tears. "We'll find your frigid jerk of a father, don't worry, kid. You said that your last dream was meditation-induced? He gave you Yamato, but your arm absorbed it?"

"Yeah, when I was attacked in the forest, my arm...transformed. Blue,...Dad, I guess, said it was my devil manifested."

"Let's see it." He said. I unwrapped my arm and removed my glove, and Dante examined the limb thoroughly. He whistled when I manifested Yamato, and I handed the sword over to him. He looked it over lovingly, and I wondered how things would have been different for all of us if he and Mom had been in contact. He clearly missed Vergil as much as she had. I shook my head, then I remembered the amulet.

"Oh yeah, something else happened. I absorbed this," I manifested the amulet, which still had Mom's pendant inside it, pulsing faintly. "And while I was trying to sort out why I could absorb it, I tried a crystal pendant of Mom's. I couldn't absorb it directly, but it became part of Dad's amulet." I showed it to him, but he shook his head.

"I'm not sure on that one, kid. Your arm and its abilities are unique, as far as I know. My devil, and your father's, are complete transformations that we turn on and off - trigger - at will. Not a permanent, partial change like your arm."

"You mean I'm going to go through the rest of my life with a devil arm?" I exclaimed. He chuckled.

"Who knows? I wouldn't call it that, though; that's what we call demonic weapons. Here, kid." He handed Yamato back, then transformed. He was fully a devil, vaguely similar to Blue. I grinned at him.

"Guess I would have called you Red." I said. He chuckled again.

"You grin when you laugh." I commented curiously. He released his trigger.

"Yeah, kid. That's not a devil thing, that's a freak thing of Vergil's. He does the same thing in his human form. It creeped me out when we were kids."

"So where do we start looking for Dad?" I asked him. He frowned.

"I don't buy your mom's mysterious disappearance. That's not much like the Jade I met or heard about. I say we start at this Academy of yours, talk to this Agnus creep." He grinned. "First, though, how about some lunch. Any good pizza joints on this rock?"


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: **__Okay, so this should be the last chapter of Part IV. I am still writing Part V, so the updates will be slower, but I promise that I will be as speedy as possible while still trying to maintain quality._

_Yeah, maybe I should have stuck to my original policy of not posting anything incomplete, but having eager readers is great motivation to keep working, and the dynamic feedback I get is nice inspiration._

_As ever, let me know what you think. I respond to all questions and comments, even if it's just a 'thank you'._

_I have been browsing both Amazon and eBay, but haven't come across the rights to Devil May Cry yet, so they must still belong to Capcom. Weird._

* * *

**Mementos and Memories - Part IV**

**Chapter 4**

The kid knew of one place we could get some pizza, and it turned out to be pretty good. I shoved the stuff down, but the kid picked at his. It didn't take a genius-level intellect to figure out something was eating at him instead. I grinned at him.

"What's the matter, kid? I'd be thrilled to know I had an uncle as cool as me." I joked. He grunted.

"I bet you would, old man."

"Come on, kid. Eat up. Never know when we'll get to pause for some chow again. A mission like this-" He grunted again, interrupting.

"What, you mean you've done this before? Gone barging into some place looking for someone who's been missing for years, based on some crackpot dreams you can't shake? Trying to find someone who would never have left you to be alone if there had been any way she could have been there? Accusing the very people you've known and grown up around for years of something evil?" He sounded bitter, but I couldn't blame him. I considered.

"Something like that, yeah." I admitted. He looked at me, disbelief all over his face. "I lost my mom a long time ago, like I said earlier. I thought I'd lost Verge, too. In a way, I kind of did. When I first found out he was alive, years later, I _did_ barge in, determined to find him. I wanted to rattle his brains for being gone, but I wanted to hug him for being alive." I laughed, reliving the bitterness I'd felt then. "We ended up trying to kill each other, damn near succeeded, too."

"What happened?"

"You know what is the best way to quit fighting someone you love? Have a common enemy attack you both. Working together felt great, kid. Vergil and I make a hell of a team, always have. Afterwards, it was hard again. I told you before that it took a lot of reconciliation. He left, and I didn't see him again for quite a few years. When he showed back up, I didn't even know who he was. We fought again, and I won."

"So what?" He asked, but I shook my head.

"No, kid, you don't understand. In devil terms, that meant his life was forfeit; he probably expected me to kill him, but I didn't. Instead, I made him come home and work for me." I laughed again, remembering how badly he'd taken the idea. Vergil rarely curses or says anything vulgar, but the string of things he had spit at me that day shocked even me. "Believe me, kid, if it weren't for your father's sense of honor, he would have murdered me in my sleep. As it was, he took working for me badly, for a while."

"Then what? He have some epiphany?" He was getting curious again. I could sympathize; I had felt the same way about my father.

"No, nothing so grand. He just changed. He slowly stopped being the man he'd become, and became the man your mother knew." I paused there, wondering if he needed more, or if the rest could wait. He grew quiet, pensively eating a slice of pizza. I waited, figuring there were other demons he was still wrestling with.

"What about my mom? Do...do you know how they were together? Were they...happy?"

"Your mom ever tell you how they met?" I asked. He shook his head.

"There's a club near Devil May Cry. Verge and I used to go there. I'd have a good time, find some hot babe to spend time with. Vergil would have a bottle. Just one, and when he had finished it, he'd knock the glass upside down on the table. As soon as I heard that, I'd fetch him, and take him home."

"Why?" He asked, not knowing how loaded that question was.

"Lady put it best one day: Vergil plus bottle equals amusing. Vergil plus bottle plus anything else equals disaster." I could tell that he was still confused, but I didn't really want to tell the kid about some of the situations I'd had to clean up. "Maybe some other time, kid. Anyway, your mom was in this club frequently enough. I caught her watching me out on the floor more than once. One night, Verge decided to go call her on it, tell her it was a waste of her time watching me like that. He was a little cruel about the whole thing. The next evening he went back, sober, found her and apologized to her, then took her to dinner. They started dating. Later, he stayed over at her place." The kid's face went sour. I laughed.

"Hey kid, didn't I tell you how honorable Vergil was? He didn't do any of _that_ when he first stayed over there. No, she gave him a key, told him to make himself at home any time, and he still waited." I grabbed another slice of pizza. "He didn't want to start anything with her until she knew he wasn't human. I don't know the details, but I know that he told her, and they started dating for keeps. Eventually, he was living more with her than at the shop. He kept a sharp line between business and pleasure. He took jobs, and his cut went towards their life together, but he tried to keep her away from demons; he thought it would protect her."

"Look how that turned out." The kid grunted. I frowned.

"Hey, kid. Vergil did what he thought was right. I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the same. _Nobody_ deserves what happened to our mom and us. Who knows? Maybe it would have turned out okay. He was looking at some place outside of the city to buy and move in to with Jade. He said he wanted to start a family. So, yeah, they were happy. Happiest I'd seen Verge in a long time. Your mom must have been happy with him, as hard as she took losing him." I hesitated, musing. "She took our name, you know. Redgrave, that was our mom's name. I started using it whenever I needed a last name to give someone. Vergil began using it for the same reason after he started working for me. I guess your mom took it after I told her that Vergil had called them a married couple." I paused, and the kid grunted again.

"Blue always called me 'nestling' in those dream-things." He rifled through the backpack he had, pulling out the sketchbook once more. I smiled, remembering how thrilled Verge had been when he'd showed it to me. It had been a birthday present from Jade, and he'd carried it around frequently. Not on jobs, of course, but around the office, or anywhere he went around town. The kid flipped through it, stopping on the very last drawing before handing it to me. I looked at the drawing. It was of some mansion on a cliffside property.

"The label says 'nest'. The date is less than a year before I came along." Nero explained. I nodded, reaching it back towards him, but he shook his head.

"I was curious about some of the drawings." He told me. I flipped through it, whistling. He blushed, but a hard look flashed in his eyes.

"That's my mom, old man." He growled.

"Okay, kid. Not those, got it. The first one is Vergil, like I told you before. I guess Jade drew it. The one behind the desk is me. The last one is probably the place he was looking at buying."

"Yeah, I get all that. You said Sparda was your dad, right?"

"That's right, kid." I replied. He took the book and flipped to a picture in the middle.

"So this is your family? Your mom and dad?" I nodded.

"And the cute baby is me. The ugly one's Verge." I said. He scowled. I tapped the baby in my mother's arms. "That's me. Dad's holding Vergil. This drawing is based off a picture Mom had; I remember it well. It was lost in the fire." I told him, trying to be serious. He nodded.

"So the blonde, that's your mom?" He asked, pointing to another picture, this one a portrait and curiously unlabeled, though dated.

"Yeah. This _might_ be based off a picture I have on my desk, instead of Vergil's memory." I said, but I wondered. It wasn't exactly like the photo I had. He nodded and took the book back.

"What happened to my father? Did Mom know?" He asked quietly as he fussed with putting the sketchpad back in the bag.

"Your mother knew." I answered just as quietly. "After he'd been gone for six months, she tracked me down at the shop and demanded answers. Jade was spunky, no doubt about that. I told her what had happened myself. That's the first time I had actually met her. She was already pregnant with you, of course, and it wasn't too long afterwards that you were born."

"Mom never told me what happened, just that he'd been lost saving a girl." He said in that same quiet voice. I nodded, remembering the job too well.

_Trish walked into the office late in the afternoon._

_"Dante, I need your help."_

_"Hey, I didn't know you were working in town again."_

_"Yes. A priest asked me to look into this odd case, and when I got there, I realized it was a possession. It's kind of complicated, though, because the demon has actually physically merged with this girl, somehow." She seemed agitated. I frowned._

_"Well, let's poke through some of those books of Vergil's, maybe we can find the ritual we'll need to separate the two."_

_"Where is Vergil, anyway? I don't want to be a nasty surprise for him." She asked, looking around. I grinned._

_"He stays with Jade more than he does here."_

_"Jade, huh? The girl he was seeing when I was in town last?"_

_"The same. He told her the truth about himself, I guess, and they've been together ever since."_

_"That's great!" She exclaimed. I frowned. I knew it bothered her that Vergil didn't like her. It was part of the reason she'd left Devil May Cry after he showed back up; she didn't want to make me choose between her and him. Although Vergil wouldn't have made me choose either, things would have come to uncomfortable conclusion if they'd both been around. I sighed to myself._

_We sifted through books most of the night. Based on the information Trish had from the priest and the family, as well as her own observations, we finally figured out the ritual required to release the girl from the demon, but it was a precise, complicated affair, mostly in a tricky demon tongue. I sighed._

_"I'm not sure I speak that one well enough to do the ritual." I admitted after reading and re-reading it to myself several times._

_"What are we going to do?" Trish sounded worried._

_"Guess I'll call Vergil and get him to do it."_

_"I'm not sure, maybe-" Trish hedged, but I cut her off._

_"Vergil is a professional; he can work with you to do this job."_

_"Maybe you should go with him." She suggested. I waved my hand at her._

_"Unh-uh. This is your job." I reminded her. She nodded. "I'll call Verge, all right?" I told her. She went towards the bathroom, and I picked up the phone to dial his cell phone._

_"This had better be good, Dante." Vergil grumped. Shit. I'd awakened him._

_"Look, Vergil, Trish has this job that she needs help with, a possession of a little girl."_

_"Why can you not take the job? You know I can't stand the woman." He asked, obviously irritated, but it was a little strange, too. Usually he called her nothing but 'she-devil' or something worse; maybe he'd work with her for this after all._

_"It requires a separation ritual." I informed him._

_"Why can you not do that ritual?" He was starting to get angry._

_"The ritual itself is tricky, and the demon language it needs to be spoken in is difficult. I don't speak it well enough to perform." I heard footsteps slap against the floor in the background._

_"Admitting you have performance issues, little brother? That has to be a first for you." He snarked. I winced; the comeback wasn't the harsh part, it was the fact he'd used one. Not only was he irritated, but he was pissed. I pitied Trish today, but I knew that he needed to be the one to do this._

_"Come on, Verge. It's a little girl flesh-merged with a demon. I can't risk fucking this up."_

_"Fine." He snapped, hanging up. I sighed._

_"Is he coming?" Trish asked._

_"Yeah, but he's not happy about it."_

_"I'll stay out of his way." She assured me._

_Some hours later, when Trish came back alone I grinned._

_"Vergil have you drop him off at his little cutie's place?" She shook her head, and it was then that I noticed her tears. The world fell out from under me._

_"I'm so sorry, Dante. The ritual...the priest jumped in, he thought he was helping, but it interrupted the spell. The demon dragged the girl into the demon world with him. Ver,...Vergil and I, we went through the rip that was created. I grabbed the girl. Vergil fought with the demon. I pushed the girl towards the exit, because I was going to help him, but he picked her up, put her in my arms, and told me to run. I did. He was right behind me, I swear, Dante, then the demon rose up and ripped open his back. He ran it through with his sword, but the demon had stabbed him as well. Vergil ran towards the portal and collapsed. I was going to come through, to get him. He told me to stay, that he was coming, because the rip was closing, and then he collapsed again just as it shut. Dante, oh Dante, I'm so sorry, but I couldn't get it to reopen!" She leaned onto the desk, crying openly. I felt like a little boy again, right after Mom had been killed. I rose to my feet and started smashing everything in reach. When Trish finally calmed me down, hours later, I realized that I had triggered and had trashed the entire office._

_"Dante? Shouldn't,...shouldn't we tell Ver,...Shouldn't we tell his mate?" Trish asked hesitantly. I shrugged helplessly._

_"I can't." I told her bitterly. "I don't know how to get a hold of her. It was Vergil's fucking rule to leave his mate as far away from demons as possible."_

_"No..." She moaned. I nodded, feeling as much despair as Trish had just intoned._

_Six months later, Jade finally found me, and I had to break her heart, leave her a widow, and orphan her child all at once._

I looked at the kid, waiting. He looked at me.

"Is that it, then?" He asked, his tone unreadable. I shrugged.

"A few days after she had come to the shop, I found her place so I could give her Vergil's pay. I'd kept it for those six months." I smiled wryly. "It was easy to find her after I'd met her; I could backtrace her scent then."

"Why'd you keep the money? For Mom?" He asked. I shrugged again.

"For Vergil. It wasn't my pay. After you were born, she stopped by again, alone. She said she was moving and taking her baby with her. I gave her what things of Vergil's had still been at the shop, as well as that business card with the note on the back. I didn't know whether she'd ever call me or not, but I owed it to Vergil to take care of his family if I could. Hell, if Jade had strolled into Devil May Cry and demanded that I marry her and adopt you, I'd have done it. If she'd called me from across the world because you had a nosebleed, I'd have come." I told him. He smiled, a soft kind of look like my brother used to get.

"I was worried you'd tell me to fuck off when I called. Guess I was wrong."

"Get used to it, kid. Vergil was the same way - always wrong."

"Whatever, old man. So now what?"

"Now, we go to this Academy of yours and have a chat with Sir Creep-A-Lot." I said. He nodded.

"Good. I owe that bastard a thing or two."


	13. Chapter 13

**_A/N:_**_ Good news: finally an update. Bad news: it is a very short prologue to Part V. More good news: as soon as I finish writing up another scene or so, I'll post chapter 1._

_Please don't hate me?_

_Anyway, I'd love to get your feedback, as always. Jimli :D_

_Disclaimer? Nope, I got nothing._

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Prologue: Man in Black**

The feeling of a strong demonic power had led me to this place. I vaguely recognized the island with its castle and nearby town; there was a true Hellgate here, one long since sealed by Sparda. The humans surely hadn't broken Sparda's seal; the demonic energies surrounding this place were not strong enough to suggest that. It was certainly not like when the legendary tower Temen-ni-Gru had been summoned and breached all those years ago, but there was definitely a stirring of great power here. The wind whipped around me as I stood on the hilltop outside the castle town of Fortuna, trying to solve this puzzle. My curiosity, ever my weakness, won out: I decided to find the source of this demonic unease. I carefully scaled my way down the steep hillside and into the town proper.

As I took account of my surroundings, I thought I caught sight of one I knew was long dead. My curiosity was piqued yet more, and I followed the ghost to have a better look at him. He turned slightly, addressing a youngling walking with him, and I identified him. He was not the devil I had originally thought, but his presence added to my curiosity, especially with the odd sense of power oozing from the island's every pore.

The teenaged devil half-breed walking with the younger nestling of Sparda was unknown to me, but I was ill-positioned to catch more than a few, fleeting words exchanged between them. There was a resemblance between the half-devils, however, both in appearance and power. No doubt they were related through Sparda's bloodline, but I wouldn't know how until I had more information on the youngling. Sparda. My old grudge flared. I still hadn't determined whether I had forgiven him or not. It _had_ been quite some time ago, but a betrayal is a betrayal, and understanding his reasons did not change his actions. I pushed those thoughts aside. I decided to follow the younger spawn and find out what he was doing in this place, as well as determine who the youngling with him was. When I satisfied my curiosity, I would decide whether or not I was still angry with Dante's father.


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: **__Here we are the first chapter of Part V. I hope that everyone is good with POV shifts. I don't think that there have been multiple POVs in a single chapter yet, but that changes in this part. I'll use the gray lines to indicate a shift. I haven't written action sequences before this, so I hope they go over well with you guys._

_Usual warnings about language, plus violence._

_Thanks to all reviewers, favoriters, followers, readers, and viewers! As ever, please, please let me know what you think!_

_Jimli :D_

_Oh yeah, that damned disclaimer thingy: I don't own the whats-it, who's-their-face does..._

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 01: Enter the Secret Lab**

We left the pizza place and I led the way through town towards Academy. Dante whistled when we arrived.

"I have to hand it to you people, you've got style."

"What are you talking about old man?" I growled at him. He gestured towards the building.

"You know that they just don't build stuff in that style of architecture anymore, right?" He said. I shrugged.

"Mom really liked the buildings and stuff, but I guess I never really paid much attention to it." I told him. Dante shook his head, laughing. We walked inside.

"You know, I know that it's the weekend and all, but the place sure seems empty. I wonder what's going on." I commented. He didn't respond, and I had this feeling that he'd gone on alert.

I led him through mostly quiet hallways, headed for Agnus' lab. "So, if Mom did come to meet him, she likely met him here. Agnus likes having the home field advantage." I tried knocking, but there was no response, and the door was locked. Dante kicked it open, shattering the jamb.

"Tch, real subtle, old man."

"What, you think we're here for tea, kid? If these guys have your mom or were involved in her disappearance, they're not going to play nice with us." He snarked as he barged in, looking the laboratory over. He sniffed the air then strolled straight towards the back office.

"What, you part bloodhound, too?"

"I'm not surprised that you can't recognize that smell, being green and untrained, kid." He remarked. I bristled.

"What the hell you mean untrained!? I've been at this place training since I was five! I'm better than you were at my age, gramps!"

"I doubt that, kid." He replied as he once again shattered a door. I started to say something else, but the flat tone he'd used didn't hold any of his usual bullshit teasing. What kind of childhood did Dante have anyway? I shook my head and followed the old man into the newly opened office.

"What do you have against doors?" I muttered.

"Usually my foot."

"Whatever." I looked around the office, not sure what exactly we were looking for. A large painting on the back wall caught my attention.

"Dante? Isn't that your old man?" I asked, pointing it out to him. He glanced at it.

"Yeah." He cocked his head, staring at the painting, then he pulled a huge sword with a skull on it from nowhere. He rushed at the painting and sliced through the canvas. He stuck the sword onto his back and turned to me with a grin.

"After you, kid." He indicated the passageway that had been behind the canvas.

"Tch, age before beauty."

"I've got both, kid."

"Whatever, old man." I walked down the hall and came up on a sealed door.

"We'll need a passkey." I informed him after looking at the device on the door. He brushed past me, looking over the electronic latch. He pulled a silver colored .45 from his coat and shot the panel. Sparks flew as the door popped open.

"Looks like I had the override code." He quipped with a grin. My comment was cut short when I saw what was inside. Upright glass tubes filled with bodies floating in bubbling colored liquid covered the floor.

"What the...?" One tube with green fluid had an arm and leg inside, both of which looked human. Another had a demon in it that looked exactly like the patchwork-quilt kind that had attacked me in the forest yesterday. Some tubes were empty, some only had fluid, in every color, but most had bodies or body parts, demon and human.

"Man, I knew Agnus was a sick fuck, but what the hell? What is this? You ever see something like this before, old man?" I demanded. He shook his head, a hard, angry look in his eyes. We made our way through the room, towards the back. Dante abruptly caught my shoulder, staring at something in the very back. I looked in that direction.

"Those bastards!" I cried as I ran towards the back to a tube filled with purple fluid. Inside floated my mother. I punched the glass, but it didn't even crack. Dante caught my hand before I could punch it again, but I jerked away from him.

"That's my mom!" I yelled.

"Yeah, kid. Look at the blue one next to her." His voice was disturbingly quiet, so I glanced at the tube he indicated. I was still trying to figure why I'd care about the old man inside when the bubbles swirled his long hair upward, and I saw the resemblance to Dante. I stared, fascinated, looking between him and Dante, and I caught a glimpse of my own reflection in the glass. For the first time, I realized how much I resembled the twins. I had heard Mom tell me all my life how much I looked like Dad, but even when I'd seen those drawings, I hadn't noticed the resemblance until now. That thought pushed my anger to the back of my mind, and I touched the glass separating me and my father.

"Is that...?"

"Yeah, kid. I don't know how, but that's Vergil." Dante answered, still too-quiet. Little pieces came together in my mind.

"Did she find out? Mom, I mean? Is that why...?" I looked back at her. Dante shook his head.

"I don't know, kid."

"No, as a matter of fact it's not, Nero." A familiar voice answered. Shocked and pissed, I turned to face the man who had spoken.

"You...you knew about this? You son-of-a-bitch! How could you? She was _family_!" Credo nodded, looking not at me, but at Mom.

"I know, and I am sorry, Nero, but the Order's work is important. Far more important than my personal feelings or yours. I regret that Jade became involved, but there is always collateral damage in the quest for the greater good." He turned to Dante.

"So, I finally have the pleasure of meeting the Savior's younger son."

"Pleasure's all yours. You mind telling me what's going on, kid?"

* * *

I looked at the kid, but it was the stuffed shirt creep who answered.

"When I was only a little younger than Nero is now, my parents died, leaving my infant sister in my care. Jade responded to my advertisement for assistance, bringing her own infant, Nero. She did a competent job of helping raise my sister and admittedly, I consider both her and Nero to be family. The fact that her half-devil child was of the Savior's blood became an unfortunate coincidence for her. His Holiness discovered that fact after the incident on Nero's first day of school, and the boy became an integral part of the Order's plans. Regretfully, my over-enthused colleague, Agnus, upset the boy upon meeting him, and Jade became involved. She was always a little too protective of him; it was bound to become an issue sooner or later. Agnus seized the opportunity to remove her from the equation." He frowned, looking briefly at Jade again. "Perhaps not the best way to have handled the situation, considering the current fallout, but Agnus is a scientist, not a tactician." The kid leapt at the guy, obviously intending to rip him apart, but then the creep transformed, taking on a devil form.

"Well, that certainly explains the smell." I drawled. Nero pulled up short.

"What the...? You're one, too?"

"No, boy. I have Ascended. One avenue of Agnus' research culminated in this."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I commented. "Looks to me like you're just another asshole who gave up his humanity for power."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, Dante, considering how you waste the Savior's gift to you." He sniffed. I grunted.

My father's 'gift' led to the death of my mother, the destruction of our family, and the near-fatal loss of my brother, not just once, but a few times over, not to mention the estrangement of my sister and nephew, and her eventual disappearance. Not that I was going to explain any of that to this fuck; he wouldn't understand or believe any of it.

"You assholes are all the same; you never learn. Sure, you can become part-demon, gain a little power, but in the end, you'll always be defeated because you fail to see that you've lost more strength than what you've gained." I sighed. He nodded.

"I see there is no reasoning with you, Dante. So be it." He rushed me, making a horizontal swing. I flipped to the side and started to draw Rebellion, but the kid threw his arm in front of me.

"No. I've got this." He spoke quietly, unlike himself, but sounding so much like Vergil that I did a double-take to make sure my brother was still in the tank. I shrugged.

"Sure, kid. I'll try to deactivate these tanks." I answered. The kid manifested Yamato and stalked after his opponent.

Nero ran at him, but the guy blocked his strike with his sword. The kid backed off, swinging horizontally. Again he was blocked.

"Ah, Nero. These beginner maneuvers aren't going to work. I myself taught you all these moves, and I know well how to block them." Nero backed off again and took an all too familiar stance.

"You're right, Credo. How about I show you something different?" He went through a three-hit combination that I recognized as Vergil's signature move. His opponent, Credo, I supposed, partially blocked the first strike, but was unable to guard the following two. Nero went right into more familiar looking moves and combinations, constantly keeping his barrage up. Credo was kept on the defensive, but the strikes weren't really doing enough damage. He dodged one blow entirely and regained his balance. The kid rushed him, too hasty, and he was knocked flat. Before Nero could recover, Credo had him pinned down at sword point.

"You are too important to kill, boy, so I suggest you yield."

"Fuck you!" Nero spat, pulling his over-sized revolver out and leveling it at his opponent's face. He squeezed off two rounds almost quicker than Credo could react. He barely dodged, at least one of the shots grazing him before he took flight. Wounded, he made for the exit and disappeared. Nero got up to pursue, but collapsed back to his knees, grabbing his side. I made my way over there, but the kid shrugged off my concern.

"I'll be fine. Did you figure out a way to release them, old man?"

"No. It's some kind of demon lock, requiring a special key. No override codes this time." I grinned even though it wasn't really funny. Nero swore again.

"Language, kid. That's your mom over there." He flipped me the bird before turning back to the glass cases holding his parents.

"So what are we going to do? We can't just leave them here like this."

"We need to find the key. It will either be with your friend the zookeeper or it will be around here somewhere. If Dr. Freakenstein has it, we can't do anything until we find him. If it's here, or in the lab or office, we can look for it."

"Credo will most likely go for help, and if he tells them that you're here, this place will be crawling with Knights."

"Then it looks like we don't have much time, kid."


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N: _**_Next chapter. As usual, I will warn about language, and violence. There are POV changes, marked with lines. Let me know what you guys think: please review! Remember, all comments and questions with be cheerfully responded to!_

_Jimli ;P_

_I used to own the rights to Devil May Cry, but then I took an arrow to the knee. :(_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 02: Storm the Castle**

I started searching the secret lab and sent the kid back to the front lab to look around. Various artifacts were strewn about the place, but none of them were the object needed to open the tanks. I pocketed most of them anyway, figuring that this was going to end up like some of my other jobs: lots of doors to get through in order to unlock _places_ to get through, in order to unlock _other_ doors to get through, in order to fight large groups of enemies, in order to reach yet _more_ doors to get through. Rinse and repeat. I grimaced. There _has_ to be something messed up in all of that.

I wandered back over to the tanks in the back. Jade I had only met briefly, but Vergil? Vergil I had known well and had missed terribly. It had been hard losing him in that mission all those years ago, not even being able to recover him or even determine if he were dead or not. Now, seeing him like this, knowing that he'd been here for who knew how long? That was even harder, somehow.

I made my way back towards the front lab and met the kid in the office. We rifled through it pretty quickly and found nothing.

"Okay, kid. Where else might this Agnus guy have stowed artifacts?"

"Maybe the Knighthood Headquarters. I bet he has an office there."

"Lead on." I said, gesturing towards the door. We went back out through the front lab and immediately ran into trouble. A handful of guys in armor appeared in the hallway, as well as a red demonic barrier. The kid and I cut them down fairly quickly, and I was mildly surprised to find out they were empty suits of armor, although demonically possessed empty suits of armor. The barrier had broken when the last one fell, so we continued.

Outside of town, we started up a short peak. A group of lesser demons that looked like dogs, Basilisks, attacked us out of nowhere. Nero held up his end of the fight fairly well, slicing through the ranks with Yamato, and I picked off the occasional pooch with Ebony and Ivory. Nothing says 'Stay!' like a .45 in the face.

The kid had said that cutting through the castle was the quickest way to the headquarters. I was once again impressed by the style of the place as we approached Fortuna Castle. Classic Gothic architecture in a sprawling building the size of a small town. I whistled.

"You know, say what you want about demons and evil orders, kid, but I tell you, they always have the classiest places."

"Are you going to help me here, or just admire the place, Picasso?"

" 'Michelangelo' might be more appropriate for that comeback, though your time frame would still be inaccurate."

"Just shut the hell up and keep walking old man!" He yelled. I grinned.

We arrived at the castle and walked in. A quick inspection of the foyer confirmed the suspicions I'd had in the secret lab: it was a good thing I'd grabbed those artifacts, because there were a lot of special demonic doors all over the damned place.

"Okay, kid, which direction do we need?" He pointed to the left, and I inspected the door.

"As soon as I pop this lock, I figure we're going to have company. You up for it?"

He summoned out Yamato and set his jaw in a way that reminded me of his mother more than his father. I chuckled and opened the door. We both inspected the empty corridor beyond.

"Maybe your 'company' had a bigger engagement, old man." The kid snarked. We walked down the too-quiet hallway tensely. As soon as we rounded a corner, I felt then saw the red barriers go up, and we found ourselves surrounded by a grab bag: some of those patchwork things the kid had mentioned, Scarecrows, I knew, now that I'd seen one; Assaults, a variation on those lovable, blade wielding anthropomorphic lizards called Blades; and even a couple of Frosts, a _particular_ favorite of mine - the last time I'd gone against a group of those, I was frostbitten everywhere, even when using Ifrit.

"Apparently, their other party wasn't as much fun as they thought it would be." I drawled at the kid. We waded into the fray, slicing up the Scarecrows with relative ease. Two of the Assaults pounced at me at once. I dodged left, then zipped back behind their new position. I landed a few good combos on the pair before they got their shields back to a useful position. I glanced over at the kid, saw that he was still dicing Scarecrows as well as his own Assault, then I turned back to my two lizards.

They were pacing, waiting, taking too damn long. I jumped up, slicing downward with Rebellion on the head of the closer one. It fell back, and the other tried a sneak attack from behind. I whipped out my shotgun, shooting backwards over my shoulder. It was knocked back quite a ways, but it was more angry than damaged. The one in front of me rushed at me, slashing with its claws again and again. I timed the impacts perfectly, absorbing the energy of each of the attacks. When it came in for yet another swing, I countered, releasing the pent-up energy to kill it in a single blow. The other one came back, with two more in its wake. I slid into the leader sword-point first, finally destroying it. Gunfire from somewhere on my right side pelted the other two, and I saw the kid reholster his double-barreled revolver after they fell backwards.

The Frosts, who had been hanging back a little for some reason, finally jumped into the fray. I cut down those last two Assaults as they tried to recover from the kid's shots and ran over closer to Nero as the two Frosts closed in on him.

"These things are a lot tougher than those Scarecrows and Assaults, kid. Don't get caught in one of their attacks unless you enjoy being a popsicle." I whipped out Ebony and Ivory as I spoke, peppering one of the Frosts with a constant barrage but doing only minimal damage. When it staggered, I grabbed Rebellion again and started attacking it with what Vergil had once said was all the grace and finesse of a drunken lumberjack chopping down a giant sequoia. Fucking poet.

I glanced over at the kid, partly because I'd thought of Verge, partly to see how he was doing with his own big cold one. I blinked in disbelief, distracted enough to actually take a glancing blow from my opponent.

The kid had the devil by the tail in his demonic hand, swinging it up vertically over his head and bashing its head back down against the floor repeatedly. I absently blocked another blow from mine as I watched Nero start swinging the demon around in circles about his head like some absurd lasso. He released it, sending it flying into the Frost I had been fighting, killing both of them. I whistled as he stood there panting slightly, staring at his glowing hand. I clapped; not only was I genuinely impressed, but I figured the kid could use a little encouragement before he freaked himself out.

"Nice one, kid! I especially like the finale, slinging one into the other. Very stylish! I'd even give it an 'A'. " He glanced up at me, probably wondering if I was teasing him again. I kept my smile on, waiting to see what he would say. He finally relaxed, putting that familiar disdainful look on his face.

"Whatever, old man. Let's just go." He sauntered past me, and I followed in his wake until we reached yet another demon lock.

* * *

Dante pulled some ugly looking statuette from... _somewhere_ and looked between it and the gruesome carving on the door for a moment before turning to me with that smirk on his face.

"This carving appears to be missing something. Should I use the Evil Monkey Statue?" He asked.

"Are you always like this on these jobs of yours?" I sneered at him. He shrugged, laughing a little.

"Yeah, pretty much, kid. Annoyed the shit out of Vergil, too." He answered, placing the...did he call that an 'Evil Monkey Statue'?

"How do you know what that thing even is? And those demons, how do you know what they're all called?" I demanded. He shrugged again, casually walking through the now open door.

"Believe or not, kid, I _do_ know how to read. I even actually do so, from time to time." He frowned a little. "Mom was a huntress. Not many people know that, I suppose. That's how she and Sparda met, though. She had all kinds of books, journals, scrolls, plus there was my Dad's collection of demonic texts. Our house was all but completely destroyed the day she was killed, and only a very few things survived, like that picture on my desk I mentioned, the three most powerful Devil Arms my father possessed, the two halves of his amulet." He smiled grimly, pulling an amulet from under his shirt. I blinked.

"That looks that mine."

He nodded. "Two halves of a whole, just like his spawn. Sparda was poetic by nature, according to my mother."

I was tense, alert for the next wave of demons, but I kept most of my attention on Dante, listening intently. "The library, though," he continued, "wasn't at the house. It's...elsewhere. I have access to it, so did Vergil, but no one else. It wouldn't do for common demons or power-hungry humans to get into that place. It's a good place to research things about my cases, though." He grinned at me over his shoulder, clearly proud of himself. "I've even added a few things of my own to it."

"Tch, back issues of Penthouse or Playboy?" I snorted. He laughed.

"Nah, Dad had lifetime subscriptions to those that no one seems to have cancelled yet." He replied. I blinked at him again. _Surely he couldn't be serious?_

"No," he continued, "I've added case files, mostly, some history on a few interesting things, some Devil Arms that I don't frequently use, a few trophies that are too dangerous to keep in the office..." He rolled his fingers indicating the list went on, but he cut himself off as he stopped to examine a blank wall at the end of the hallway. I frowned. A hallway that led nowhere? I didn't remember this corridor stopping like that. I looked around, confused. None of this looked familiar, though I'd been through here a few times with Credo before.

"Did we pass any doors?" I asked, looking back around the curving hallway.

"No." He answered distractedly. He was feeling the wall, like archaeologists always do in the movies. He must have found what he was looking for, though, because suddenly we were both in another part of the corridor. I looked behind us only to see a blank wall.

"What the...?" I asked, shaking my head. I didn't have much time to wonder because another group of demons cropped up out of nowhere to attack us. Dante grinned, rushing right into the largest group: more of those things he'd called Scarecrows. I ran forward as well, slashing away with Yamato, blasting at enemies with Blue Rose, dodging and rolling. A sound from Dante caught my attention, and I looked to see what was going on.

He was laughing maniacally, moving like a blur, teasing, taunting, and confusing those devils so much that I almost felt sorry for them. I quit battling them myself so I could watch him fight instead. He was taking out those demons like they were nothing, like it was a game for him. He knocked one of the Assaults down to the ground, then hopped on it, using it like a surf board to rush past the other demons, cutting them down as he went. I shook my head, pulled out Blue Rose, shot the last Scarecrow to kill it, then rejoined Dante as his poor surf board finally died.

"You're not what I would've figured the Savior's son to be." I told him.

"What, you were expecting someone more uptight, decorous, straight-laced, serious, and dour, right?" He laughed, then clapped me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. We'll get him out of that aquarium soon." He sauntered off, still smiling.

"You mean that's what Vergil's like." I wasn't really asking a question. He stopped and turned to face me again, eyeing me oddly. "What?" I asked, uncomfortable with the way he was looking at me, but he just turned back around and continued walking. I shook my head, still trying to figure out this half-devil.

The door at the end of the hallway led outside. We entered a small courtyard and looked around. The snow was blowing around in lazy circles, the wind occasionally whipping it into a frenzy. At the far end was some sort of dark monolith with a figure in front of it. I glanced at Dante as we both cautiously approached.

"That's f-far enough! I have been s-s-s-sent to stop you and exact rep-p-parations for the damage you've d-d-d-done! As fortune would have it, you haven't put b-b-back my research, but His Holiness wants an end t-t-to your m-m-meddlesome ways!" Agnus' voice came from across the courtyard. I thought I saw Dante's eyebrow arch.

"Ever has science studied the caged beasts for understanding. That aquarium of yours must provide hours of entertainment all by itself, watching the bodies float with all the pretty bubbles in the colored liquids. I believe I want one like it for the office." Dante replied musingly.

"M-m-much has been d-discovered through my work, leading to the real f-f-fruits of my labor," He gestured around us, but I couldn't see what he was talking about. "and ultimately t-to what will be the Order's greatest achievement: the r-r-r-r-resurrection of our belovéd S-savior!" Agnus clinched his fist in the air. Dante waved his hand dismissively and sighed theatrically.

"Always with the resurrections. When will man ever learn that what is dead should stay that way?" He pulled his silver gun on Agnus. "Guess it will be your last great discovery." Agnus slammed something into the monolith, causing a great glowing crack to run through its middle. A thick, pearly gray fog started oozing from the opening in the monolith as Dante pulled the trigger twice, but Agnus triggered, flying behind the monolith before using the fog to cover his escape from the courtyard.

The fog thickened, despite the occasional bursts of wind. I caught a flash of pale blue light glowing in front of me and this sense of a shape in the fog. I whirled, trying to catch sight of the glow and the shape. I saw it from the corner of my eye and reached for it with my right hand, but I missed. I spun again, searching for whatever it was and saw the flash of blue again, this time behind Dante. He aimed Ivory over his shoulder but didn't even pull off a shot before the shape was gone.

The fog started drifting away to reveal a humanoid shape in front of us, halfway to the monolith. Rain came pouring down, drenching the three of us instantly. Yellow light flashed just before lightning arced across the clouds. The lightning lit the area, revealing the demon fully. It was humanoid, though it was taller and broader than even Dante. The thing seemed to be made of glass in the shape of an armored human, but the glass looked like it was filled with storm clouds. Its hands and feet ended in clawed fingers and toes, and its eyes were glowing orbs of light blue. Bright yellow light streaked through its body, then a bolt of lightning came streaking downward. Dante and I dodged in separate directions. I looked back towards the demon, but it was gone. I snapped my attention to Dante as it appeared next to him again. He had both of his guns out, shooting at it, but it just shrugged off the shots. The clouds inside it thickened and a fog rolled back in. I pulled Yamato and swung at it when it came near, but it dodged the cut. The rain cleared the fog fairly quickly, revealing its location near the center of the courtyard again.

"This thing's just fucking with us, and it's starting to piss me off!" I yelled at Dante.

* * *

Naturally, I did not follow the two half-breeds into the building with the somewhat pretentious label 'Academy'. They might have had business there, but I did not. Sparda's younger spawn must have been quite preoccupied with his business, however, as he never once noticed me. His brother would never have allowed himself to be followed by such a powerful devil as myself without challenge. I smiled. Sparda's elder spawn, Vergil. A powerful half-devil, very clever and very ambitious. He had come to me for information years ago, information regarding his father, and the seals Sparda had placed.

_"Are you Mara?" The young human-looking male asked. I studied him for a moment. He somewhat resembled a brother-in-arms I'd once known, even in his scent and the feel of his power. He was dressed in blues and carried a sheathed katana. I knew from his bearing and the scent of his power that he was not human, not fully, but I addressed him thus anyway._

_"What of it, human?" I asked casually, coolly. He visibly bristled._

_"I want information regarding Sparda and the seals he placed between the human and demon worlds." I turned from him, intent on ignoring him. A blue spectral sword appeared before me, blocking my path, and as I turned to face him again, the blade of the katana was at my throat. Naturally, I could have fought him, killed him, and been on my way, but two things stopped me. One, my own curiosity. This half-breed had boldly challenged and threatened me; not many of any strength in either world would do so knowing full well who I was. Two, the katana. Staring down its length, I recognized the rather beautiful Devil Arm: Yamato. As I had briefly suspected moments before, this was Sparda's spawn. Anger flashed through me. Two thousand years had not quite been enough for me to have forgiven his betrayal._

_"Why should I aid the spawn of that traitor?" I asked, less mildly than I had intended. The blade came up further, and he erected his carriage._

_"I grow weary of hearing of my father's betrayal to his liege. I see that you will not cooperate. A pity; my father's journal led me to believe you would be a valuable ally and asset." Anger tinged his voice, but so did disappointment. I was intrigued yet more. I smiled, pushing the blade from my throat gently but decisively._

_"I am also weary of hearing of his betrayal to Mundus. I cared not for that then, nor do I now. I care only about his betrayal to me. He disavowed me in front of our superiors. When he turned against Mundus shortly afterwards, I realized he had done so that I might keep my position and life in the demon world. He could have easily asked me to come with him instead; I would have joined him instantly. As it was, I too left the demon world, although much later. Admittedly, other demons do not call me a traitor; I had declared my intentions to find Sparda, and I did not disillusion any of them about my reasons why." The youngling before me had clearly known none of this. I mused over my thoughts for a moment._

_"What is it you wish to know, nestling?" A very human expression of surprise lit his features before he composed himself and sheathed Yamato._

Thus began my relationship with Vergil, elder son of Sparda, a friendship that lasted until his ill-fated decision to open Temen-ni-Gru. I argued with him over this decision, telling him that other Hell Gates, though not as close to Force Edge, were better routes. I also argued against it because of the sacrifices required - a human, which his father had wanted so to protect, and his very own twin. He had disagreed, for reasons he would not explain, and we parted ways. I later heard of the outcome of his efforts, and I sent an apologetic prayer to Sparda for not having done better for his nestling.

I looked up, my reverie broken. I had been sitting in a small diner eating. I saw the younger son of Sparda and the other half-breed emerge from the building, looking a little the worse for the wear. I left a gold piece on the table, no doubt confusing the serving wench, then I resumed following the pair of half-devils.

On the mountain peak just outside of town proper, they were ambushed by a group of very minor lesser demons which they easily cut down. I frowned. The energy in the area had shifted since they had left the building in town. Whatever their business had been had obviously disturbed whatever was happening on this island, and this attack, small though it had been, had been a direct result of that.

They seemed to be headed for the large castle, but I had no interest in tailing them into that building either. I scaled the edifice after they entered, waiting to see where they headed when they came back out. The demonic aura around the entire castle was intense. I was mildly surprised that there weren't lesser demons crawling all over the walls, drawn to the power of the place. A sharp shift in energy caught my attention. I followed the trace to a courtyard on the other side of the castle from where the pair of half-breeds had entered. Even I was surprised at what had caused the pulse: a false Hell Gate in the shape of an obelisk had been erected and activated in the courtyard. Predictably, a devil had come through it.

The weather started changing abruptly. I peered intently into the fog to catch sight of the devil; it was Pazuzu, the stormbringer. A rather formidable opponent with localized control of weather, as well as a balance between defensive and offensive maneuvers. He does, however, lack in conversational skills.

I watched as he toyed with the pair, casually dodging sword swipes from the teenaged half-devil and arms fire from Dante. The one unknown to me spoke, his voice carrying clearly to my position on the buttress above the courtyard.

"This thing's just fucking with us, and it's starting to piss me off!" He exclaimed, anger vibrating from his every tone. I chuckled. Sparda had been much the same as a youngling. I then noticed the sword in the youngling's hand: Yamato, the blade I had known Vergil by. Was this half-breed Vergil's nestling, then? I shook my head. Impossible. Vergil's life had ended at the hands of his sire's former liege over 25 years ago. This youngling was only as old as Vergil had been at his death. Dante's nestling, I reasoned; yet, Dante did not treat the teen as though he were its sire, nor did it make sense to me that Dante would have bequeathed his _brother's_ Devil Arm to his own spawn. Strange.

Pazuzu's midsection flashed with light; a lightning attack, I knew. The bolt came straight at the youngling, and I finally learned his name as Dante called to him.

"Nero!"

"I'm fine, old man! Shut up!" The younger half-breed yelled back. Both of them turned their attention back to Pazuzu. Fog rolled in again, an attempt to confuse and separate the two of them, as well as cover his attack. Hail pelted down, and Pazuzu appeared behind Dante, slashing at him with his sharp talons. Dante countered each swipe, absorbing the energy of the attacks. A simple maneuver, but difficult to master. Most devils never do.

The younger, Nero, fired a volley of shots at the stormbringer from an absurdly large revolver the likes of which I'd never seen. A few made contact, doing little damage, but certainly distracting the devil. Dante rushed in with his sword, yet another familiar Devil Arm, Rebellion. Vergil had once assessed Dante's style to me as all force and no finesse, 'a drunken lumberjack chopping down a giant sequoia'. He was not wrong. The hail shifted into thick drifts of blowing snow as Pazuzu retreated from Dante's strikes.

Nero cautiously headed towards where he had last seen Dante. Pazuzu met him instead, slashing with his claws. The snow swirled in vicious circles around the youngling, freezing and even cutting him. He threw his arms up defensively, and I noticed the glow surrounding his right one. He had kept the arm gloved in a sling in town, and I saw why. Intriguing.

He swatted at Pazuzu with his hand, a large spectral form of it actually catching the unfortunate devil. The snow's frantic swirling stopped, though it kept falling. Nero began shaking the demon up and down as though he were a human's snow globe, causing the snow falling from the sky to blow in erratic, impossible patterns. He flung the devil downward, and I heard the splintering sounds Pazuzu's body made as he hit the ground. Dante rushed in, sword ready for a quick kill, but Pazuzu rose, dodging to his right before the stroke hit.

Fog swelled once more, and a barrage of lightning strikes sizzled, peppering the ground in tight patterns. The combination of the hard rain earlier with the blizzard from moments ago had frozen a layer of ice across the courtyard. The lightning strikes shattered the ice in lethal explosions, leaving large shards of ice pointing skyward. Both of the half-breeds dodged and rolled, dancing around the courtyard, barely avoiding some of the blasts. Hail stormed down again; Dante absorbed the damage, while Nero avoided it or shot the ice balls as they fell.

Pazuzu appeared in the storm behind Dante, again slashing him viciously. Dante absorbed every hit, then countered with the devastating amount of all the pent up energy. The stormbringer took the hit directly to the chest, along one of the larger cracks in his body created when Nero had slammed him into the ground. The crack deepened and lengthened with a brittle snapping sound. He staggered, but didn't fall. Unfortunately, Nero grabbed him yet again with his spectral hand, shaking him as before. The shaking deepened the cracks even further, and when the youngling slammed him down for the second time, he happened to crash onto one of the broken chunks of ice from the lightning strikes. The combination of the resounding blow, his deeply cracked body, and the broken, uneven terrain worked against the stormbringer. He shattered completely.

As Pazuzu's storm dissipated in the natural winds, a faint glow could be seen on the ground. Dante approached and reached for it, and it coalesced into a grapefruit sized orb of light that manifested into clawed gauntlets and greaves on his body. I was impressed they had defeated a worthy foe, but I was somewhat puzzled that the younger half-breed, Nero, hadn't claimed the Devil Arm. It had been his maneuver that had ultimately killed Pazuzu. Dante experimented with the new Arm with a spectacular hand-to-hand routine. Curiously, each strike he made produced a seemingly random elementally based effect: lightning, ice, water, or wind. Formidable devil, formidable Devil Arm.

With Pazuzu's storm gone, I was clearly visible to the courtyard, and with Pazuzu himself gone, my demonic presence would not be masked. I retreated back to the roof where I could still observe them, though no longer hear them, and yet remain unseen.

* * *

I watched Dante run through a few moves, practicing with his new toy.

"The effects, are they random?" I asked. He shook his head.

"They can be, but I can choose if I want. I figure this will come in handy. Thanks, kid." He grinned.

"Whatever. My arm probably would've just absorbed it anyway. You might as well take it home to your library. You can put it with those back issues of Hustler."

"Playboy and Penthouse go to the library. Hustler gets redirected to the shop."

"Come on, old man." I said. He turned to go, but something behind us caught his attention. I turned to see what he was looking at, but I barely caught a glimpse of a figure in black moving onto the roof before it was gone.

"What was that?" I asked Dante quietly.

"I don't know, kid, but it's not trouble at the moment, so let's head out. Which way did Count Bugula fly off to?"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but I figure he headed towards the Headquarters. We need to take those stairs to that bridge. We can go through the mines to get to Mitis Forest, cut through there, and be at Headquarters in an hour or so. Unless we run into trouble."

"Which we can count on, kid." He supplied. I nodded and we made our way to the bridge.

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot." He slapped his forehead, grinning. He ran at the false gate, ramming his fist against the obelisk. A concussion warped the air right before the whole thing shattered. He straightened, wiping dust from his coat. He strolled over to the ruins of the gate and an orb of light came to him. He tossed it to me, and I caught it automatically. My right hand absorbed without my ever seeing exactly what it was.

"Can't just leave a Hell Gate or a Devil Arm lying around, some little kid might decide to play with one of them."


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N:_**_ So here is the next chapter. _

_Hmm, warnings. The usual language, I guess, and violence._

_I found an error of sorts while looking about some factoids for the next chapter, so I made a minor correction in chapter eight, I think...? The one called "Devil May Cry". Not a big deal._

_I hope you enjoy this one enough to believe it was worth the wait! ;) You could let me know, by reviewing..._

_Jimli ;P_

_Disclaimer: If I owed Devil May Cry, I'd be even more broke than I am now, because of Dante's constant repair bills..._

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 03: Over the River and Through the Woods**

The bridge had a strange winching mechanism that made me thankful I had someone with me, even if it was Dante. Between the two of us, we managed to extend the bridge over the chasm. Dante peered into the mist below the bridge.

"See something, old man, or is your Spidey-sense tingling?"

He chuckled. "Just catching all the sights. If I'd known we were visiting historic locations and taking in such dramatic scenery, I'd have borrowed Trish's camera."

I grunted. "Just don't fall. I don't want to fish you out of the river. The town's water supply comes from there."

"So you don't want me taking a piss here?"

"Would you just come on, old man!" I barked. He was still laughing as we entered the old mines. I looked around, halfway expecting another gate to be standing in the town, with another devil waiting for us, but there was nothing. After all the little battles we'd encountered on the peak and in the castle, I was almost disappointed when we came through the tunnels without encountering anything worse than a few common bats and rats. The mines ended in a small, hastily built town that had been used by the miners, when there had been miners. The town had been abandoned when the mines had shut down and only a very few of the crude structures were still standing. The whole place gave off ghost town vibes, and it creeped me out. Dante looked at me curiously.

"What's the matter, kid? Feel something?"

"Yeah, annoyed at you. Let's get to the forest already." I hesitated, then decided to be more honest, since he'd shown some genuine concern. "This place is giving me the creeps." I admitted grudgingly. He grinned in that annoying way of his, and I regretted opening my mouth.

"A little ghost town giving a half-devil the creeps? That's a good one."

"Yeah, I'm sure you've never been creeped out before." I said sourly. Why would he have been, being the Savior's son? He chuckled again.

"Actually, there was this one place, a former mining town out to the east. It creeped the shit out of me. Weirdest demons and spirits I've ever seen existed there. They were tortured, pathetic things, but I couldn't feel too sorry for them: they were also malevolent to the core. I never want to see the likes of that place again." I was going to blow him off, figuring he was making it up, or at least exaggerating, but then he actually shuddered. "Come on, kid," he said, shaking off his thoughts, "let's get to this forest of yours."

I nodded, heading towards the edge of the cliff. "The forest is down there, but there should be a path-" I cut off as he stepped off the cliff into a freefall. "What the hell are you doing?!" I shouted at him as he fell.

"Race you!" He called back up. I swore. I wasn't about to let him have the upper hand again, so I took a few steps back, then launched off the edge at a dead run.

* * *

He was scowling at me, his hand wandering towards his revolver again and again, but I couldn't keep from laughing. He drew and started cursing at me again.

"Shut the hell up! It's not that damn funny, Dante!"

"Sure it is, k-" I cut off, raising my hands as he pulled back the hammer. I hate being shot, especially in the head, "-Nero. It _is_ funny, you landing in that tree like that." His scowl deepened, and he started growling at me. "Hey, at least you won the race."

He had jumped too hard, smacked into a tree, then fell through it to the ground. He had severely sprained his pride, but he _had_ reached the ground before I had. My comments hadn't placated him in the slightest, but he did put the gun away.

"I don't have enough ammunition to waste shots on an annoying bastard like you." He muttered darkly. He eyed me, his curiosity fighting his anger.

"Why haven't I seen you reload those guns of yours?" He asked. Apparently his curiosity had won out this time.

"Devil trick. You concentrate your power into the gun, forming ammunition. It's the same basic principle as triggering, or manifesting the platforms for jumping. Once, when we were kids, Vergil explained to me all the metaphysics involved in it, but I didn't really pay that much attention. It's like television, radio, or telephones: I know how to work it, but I don't know how it works."

He scowled again.

"I figure it has the same basic principles as that thing you did with your arm to the Frost and Pazuzu." I told him, referring to the temporary enlarging he'd somehow managed to do, seemingly at will.

"Pazuzu?" he queried.

I manifested my new Arm, then put it back away. "Pazuzu."

"How do you know its name?" he asked, agitated once again. I kept from sighing at his impatience. I understood his irritation; he was angry at his ignorance of a world to which he partially belonged. He knew about demons and devils; I'm sure his education at the hands of the Order of the Sword was to thank for that, but there are things humans just don't know about devils and don't even realize that they don't know. I didn't hold the things he didn't know or understand against him, but Nero did. He reminded me of myself at about that age; back then, there were volumes of things I didn't know about that part of my world. The difference was I had _known_ there were holes in my knowledge, and I had had a devil's and huntress' library to go to, to fill those holes. Nero was only now seeing what he'd missed growing up more or less human, and he only had me to teach him.

"It told me its name when I claimed the Arm. Some Arms retain some of the personality the original devils had, some don't. Sometimes that spark of personality fades, sometimes it doesn't. Pazuzu's been pretty quiet; I'm not sure he'll ever speak again." I grimaced. "You should meet Agni and Rudra sometime. I wish _they'd_ never speak again." Nero shook his head, taking the lead once more into the forest.

The first clearing we reached contained the ruins of some kind of building. There was the odd broken statue here and there, a few standing sections of crumbling walls, old fountains clogged with leaves, half full of sludgy water, and all of it was covered in moss and ivy. I noticed some strange-looking plant pods scattered around the clearing as well. Probably some sort of fauna-based phenomena related to the heavy aura of demonic energy in this forest. A weathered bas relief of a figure on a nearly complete wall snagged my attention away from the pods. I meandered towards it, picking my way past broken columns and wall debris.

"Credo said this place was where the Savior lived when he ruled Fortuna. I never knew why the Order let it fall into ruin if that were true." Nero said quietly. He almost sounded reverent. I brushed some of the moss from the figure's face, unsurprised to reveal my father's visage in the stone. I grinned at the kid to cover the pang I felt in my chest.

"So, kid. Think I'm more handsome than my old man?" He glanced between my face and the carving on the wall skeptically before shaking his head.

"Either Sparda should have had a paternity test done, or beauty skips a generation." He answered as he started picking his way back to the path. I laughed.

"I should probably warn that pretty redhead not to expect too much, then."

He shot me a nasty look over his shoulder, but his face was pink in a way that reminded me of my brother. I opened my mouth to say something else to the kid, but those damned barriers went up, and we were surrounded by a crowd of pug-ass ugly demons yet again.

It was another group similar to the ones we'd fought in the castle, Scarecrows and Assaults, but no Frosts. It was far too warm in this almost jungle-like forest for those icy demons. Nero took a stance with Yamato and I brought Pazuzu out to play. We cut down some of the horde, more cropped up to replace them, then the whole thing took an unexpected turn: those plant pods started cracking open, revealing some very stunted, very ugly little demons. Shit.

"What the hell are those things?" Nero yelled at me. He shot a couple of them at close range, exploding them. I started to answer back, tell him I didn't know everything about demons when one of the little bastards jumped a Scarecrow. It metamorphosed the devil's body, adding its own scythe-like tentacles and blooming. The demon didn't seem to notice the change, continuing its own attacks, oblivious of the parasite now merged with it. Shit. I knew what these fuckers were, and they were hardly our biggest problem.

"Kill them before they get a hold of the other demons! We need to finish this in a hurry and find the Hell Gate the Order activated in the forest!"

He punched an Assault, knocking it out of the reach of yet another Chimera Seed, then he grabbed the Seed with that arm of his and ripped it in half, destroying it. "What makes you think there's another gate?"

"These damned Chimera Seeds!" I snapped. "Save the Q & A, kid. I'll explain later!" I winced a little, sorry about being harsh, but if there were Seeds all over the forest, then not only were all the lesser demon battles going to get tougher, but we'd also have to deal with-

"Shit!" I swore; yet another of those damned Seeds caught a host, this time an Assault. I quickly evaluated the situation.

"Do you see more of those pods, kid?"

"No." His snapped answer made me wince again. Damn, and I'd been doing well at encouraging him, too. I punched a Chimera with a sharp uppercut laced with lightning. Another Assault started towards me, and I knocked it upwards as well, this time using the ice element. I pulled out Ebony and Ivory, blasting away at the two of them so fast they stayed airborne. I jumped up, whipped out Rebellion again, and hacked ferociously at the pair. The Assault fell dead, but the Chimera just fell. I raised my sword over my head slamming it down on the demon's head as I landed. It gave one last scream before dying.

"Who's next?" I asked. "No volunteers? Okay, how about you, ugly?" I rushed sword point first at another Scarecrow based Chimera. After landing the initial blow, I kept jabbing and stabbing its body in a flurry of thrusts. I followed up with a few more swings and it fell, screaming its last. I heard the kid engaged in his own battle and looked over in time to see him smashing a Scarecrow Chimera to bits against the ground. I put a few rounds into the Assault he'd knocked back, then slung Rebellion at it, boomerang style. It fell to the ground, twitching once before it died, and my sword came twirling back to me, hitting another Scarecrow on its way. I switched back to Pazuzu, rushing the demon. I hit it with a flurry of ice punches, then knocked it dead with a roundhouse kick. I saw another batch of Seeds ambling towards the last of the lesser demons, two more Scarecrows and an Assault, so I jumped up and started punching lightning balls at them. Nero grabbed the lizard by the tail, thrashing the demon into the ground before slinging it into the Scarecrows, away from the Seeds. I rolled forward as I landed back on the ground, sliding into one of the last two ugly little body snatchers greave first.

"He's safe!" I cried. I hopped up, planted my foot, then my fist, into another sprout, using ice both times. The two of them dissolved into nothing, and I turned my attention to the kid again.

"You seem to have him well in hand." I noted wryly. He rolled his eyes as the unfortunate devil died.

"You and your running commentary are-"

"Really starting to piss you off?" I supplied. He scowled, turning towards the path.

"We need to find the gate. You said you do training exercises in here. Where would be a likely place for a gate to be erected?"

He considered for a moment. "There are some more ruins that way. If the gate looks like the one we saw at the castle, it wouldn't stand out as much there." He started walking in the direction he'd indicated. "Those Chimera Seeds," he said over his shoulder, "you said they meant there was a gate, but they weren't near a gate themselves. How did they get up there then?"

"Those things didn't go anywhere. They were laid there, kid."

"Why do you always have to be so damned cryptic, old man?"

I felt something and turned to see a Mephisto materialize, along with two of its closest friends. Nero swore rather colorfully.

"I've never been attacked so frequently in my life! This is your fault, Dante!" he yelled. I sighed; I get that a lot. I jumped up to eye level with one of the cloaked creepies and started wailing on it with Pazuzu, mixing up the elements, trying to find one that damaged it more than the others. Wind certainly broke its protective cloak faster, so I stuck with it, shifting around in mid-air, attacking it until it dropped, exposing its bug-like body. It tried to scuttle away, but I landed on it forcefully, kicking it while it was still trapped on the ground. It shook me off, reformed its cloak, and headed for the air again. I jumped, pulled out my shotgun and blasted it point blank before resuming the pounding with Pazuzu. When it fell the second time, it dissolved. I found one of its friends and became airborne again. The kid was having difficulties with his.

"Try grabbing it, kid! Slam it to the ground!" I called, still punching mine. He extended his spectral hand and grabbed at it, but only managed to snatch at its protective cloak. He swore again, but kept snatching, tearing away little bits at a time. I pulled out the shotgun again, shoved it into my Mephisto's face, and pulled the trigger. As it fell, I gave it a hard downward kick. It crunched satisfyingly against the ground and evaporated. I whipped around after I landed to see how the kid was handling things. He finally grabbed the last of the cloak off, snagged the demon out of the air, and slammed it into the ground. He sliced it with Yamato as it tried to rise, and finished it off with a shot from Blue Rose.

"Mephistos." I said when he looked up at me. "There is another, similar kind of demon called a Faust that's stronger, smarter, and more violent. In the library, there is a case that has a spectral hat; it kind of looks like something from 'The Three Musketeers'. It's from a Faust."

He shook his head. "Must be some library."

"I'll have to take you there when I take Vergil to show him the new wards. Most of them are blood-based, but hell kid, you're family, too." I grinned. He actually smiled back at me before turning to walk deeper into the forest. Victory.

All was fairly quiet until we ran across a devil being mobbed by a host of Chimeras and a pair of Fausts. He was doing fairly well, though he was definitely on the defensive. He was human-looking, though there wasn't anything human about his smell. He was every bit as tall as I am, though with a slighter built. He had long black hair, streaked purple in the front; being a devil, it was probably natural, especially since his eyes were the same purple color. He was dressed entirely in black: a long coat, scale mail, a tattered battle skirt, greaves, and gauntlets with talons covering his fingers. He was armed with a pair of wave blades and was quite skilled with them.

Nero went to join in, no doubt thinking to give the guy a hand, but I held him back. The devil looked away from his fight, smiling at us.

"Very wise, Dante, son of Sparda. You know not who I am, nor if I require or desire your assistance," he blocked a Faust, but took a hit from a Chimera, "however, I would enjoy your company for this...party. In return, I will explain myself and offer my own assistance."

* * *

I felt the next gate activate as I was turning away from the half-breeds. From my vantage on the roof, I could glimpse the gate itself, and the devil that came through it. I grimaced. The fools must have used a weak Devil Arm in the activation of the gate, considering the nuisance that had crawled out of it. I looked at the white-haired males leaving the courtyard. I had given my allegiance to Sparda many years past, and my friendship to Vergil not so long ago. I nodded, deciding on my course of action; I assumed my devil form and flew across the ravine, just over the mines to the false gate.

As I landed, the devil from the gate whirled around. "Dante! I-," Phantom paused in his obviously prepared speech, inspecting me carefully. "You are not that wretched son of Sparda! The human who released me told me I could avenge myself on Dante!" He ambled closer. "You remind me of someone."

I considered briefly. While triggered, I greatly resemble a black, roughly human sized and shaped dragon, but I was unsure if this massive lump of an arachnid had ever seen my trigger before. I resumed my human form, brushing strands of hair from my face.

"Where have I seen you before?" He mused. I pulled my matched wave blade swords from their sheathes on my hips.

"You are as dense as ever, Phantom. We served in Mundus' army together for many years."

"Ah, Mara! You were always with Sparda, curse that traitor! But why are you here? Are you after his spawn as well?"

I smiled mirthlessly. "Something very like that, Phantom, but not in the way you believe." I charged him, trying to catch a chink in his rock-like body with the edge of my blades. Dense though he is, he immediately gave up chatting and jumped into the air, dodging my attacks. He launched fireballs at me that I deftly knocked back into his gaping mouth. The internal explosions rocked his body, causing him great damage and pain. He thrust his face downward into the ground, sending spouts of lava in large consecutive columns. I jumped and weaved, barely evading some of them, but suffering little damage. He thrust his scorpion-like stinger at me, no doubt hoping to pin me down. I jumped, sprung off the descending tip, and landed on his back. He roared, trying to dislodge me, but I stabbed my two blades into a slim crack behind his head and scissored them, decapitating the devil. His body dissolved into a pool of lava, then evaporated entirely.

A small glow came from the gate, and I approached, looking for the Arm that had activated it. It was an odd-looking thing, resembling both a hunting knife and a boomerang. I absorbed it, then strode to the gate and sliced it as I had Phantom.

I knew the two half-breeds could not be far behind me, so I hurried towards the forest. I was not yet ready to reveal myself to them, but I was no longer content observing and following them, either.

At the cliff side, I triggered once more and took flight, looking for the next gate. A floating lesser demon caught me off guard, knocking me to the ground where I ran into hordes of lesser demons, their numbers somewhat overwhelming. I resumed my human form in an effort to lessen the draw my power would have on other demons in the area.

I was still on the ground, fighting a large group of the lessers when Dante and Nero caught up to me. I was managing the fight, barely, nimbly dodging the Fausts' attacks and avoiding blows from numerous Chimeras, but I was entirely on the defensive. Nero went to join the battle immediately, but Dante held him back. Even from across the clearing, I saw the hard, cold suspicion in his eyes. I nodded my approval.

"Very wise, Dante, son of Sparda. You know not who I am, nor if I require or desire your assistance," I blocked a stabbing spike from a Faust, but took a glancing hit from one of the Assault Chimeras, "however, I would enjoy your company for this...party. In return, I will explain myself and offer my own assistance."

"Watch him, kid. Devils who smell like him and know my pops are usually bad news." Dante said to the younger half-breed. They both rushed over, however, Dante taking the attention of one of the Fausts, Nero taking on the Assault Chimera that had just attacked me. I focused on two of the Scarecrow Chimeras, wiping them out with a few well-placed strokes. Between the three of us, the group dwindled quickly, and no new demons came in to replace the fallen. I turned to the half-breeds, approaching with a smile, but Dante pulled his silver gun on me. The hard, cold look I more associated with his twin was yet again in his features, greatly enhancing the illusion that I was facing my old friend. I raised my hands in a human gesture of surrender and lowered my head to expose my neck in a demonic gesture of the same. I kept my gaze on the younger spawn of Sparda.

"My name is Mara. I served with Sparda, under Mundus, many years ago. He was...my friend. I also knew and befriended Vergil, a few years before his untimely fate."

"Well, see, that doesn't exactly add up. He never mentioned you." Dante was very close to pulling the trigger, but I wasn't concerned yet. I smiled, lifting my head slowly, but leaving my hands raised.

"I was under the impression that you were not on speaking terms, so I'm hardly surprised he didn't reveal his association with me."

Dante frowned, more in confusion than anger. "We were working together: of course we were speaking by then. We'd been working together at the shop for a few years before his last case."

I considered his words carefully. "What happened at Temen-ni-gru? I had been told Vergil had been defeated by you, then cast into the demon world, where Mundus killed him. Is that not so? Does he live? But no, you spoke of him in the past. Please, nestling, tell me what happened to your twin."

He hesitated, and for a moment, I believed he would indeed shoot me. Instead, he shook his head.

"We fought at the tower. I did defeat him, but he jumped into Hell. I know he ran into Mundus, and that he, too, defeated him, but he didn't kill Vergil. He brainwashed him, transformed him into an obedient servant. Years later, we fought again and my victory broke Mundus' hold. I made Vergil come home and work for me. After a few more years, he took a case and never returned."

"He left your service." I ventured. Dante laughed humorlessly.

"I thought you were friends! His precious honor wouldn't have allowed that! Besides, by then he had taken a wife and even had a nestling of his own, little though he knew it." He indicated the younger half-breed, who had listened just as intently to Dante's rough tale as had I.

"You are Vergil's youngling?" I asked the boy. He shrugged.

"I guess. When did you know him?"

"Before he summoned the tower. He was younger than you when he first sought me and close to your age when he raised Temen-ni-gru."

"You said you knew their father, too, the Savior, Sparda."

"Yes. He and I served together long and long ago, until he betrayed me, then our liege."

"Yeah, as much as I l_ove_ hearing about Pop being the great traitor, I'll pass, thanks." Dante bit out. I smiled, finally lowering my hands and risking a step or two.

"As I told your nestmate, I, too, weary of that tale. I did not come to the human world to seek my own vengeance; I was merely trying to reunite with a friend. I do admit, if I had come across him, I would have fought him for, as Vergil put it, 'throwing me under the bus'." Dante burst into laughter.

"Did he really say that? _Vergil?_" Dante asked, still laughing.

I nodded. "He did. Perhaps I can tell you of our time together, but we should make our way to the gate in this forest. You know who now calls this place home, do you not?" He grew sober, nodding.

"Tch. Explain it to me, then, gramps." The youngling was clearly disgruntled.

"I do not believe I have ever been addressed thus, nestling." I informed him, but he merely looked at me. "The she-viper Echidna, of course. The Seeds she has lain throughout this forest, as well as the unnatural warmth and humidity of it leave no question. When those asinine members of the Order opened this gate, they gave Echidna access to the human world."

We reached a final clearing as I spoke; it seemed quiet and unoccupied, although the gate was indeed standing there. All three of us heard her approach, her serpentine body rustling and even breaking trees as she swam through the air. She spotted us and rushed over.

"Good! I was getting hungry!" she cried delightedly. I noticed dozens upon dozens of her Seeds scattered around the clearing.

"Dante," I said quietly, "if you and Nero can handle her, I shall dispose of those Seeds before they can become a problem. You must keep her distracted, though. If she sees her children being destroyed, she will become even more difficult to defeat." He grinned.

"There's not been a female yet I couldn't handle."

I slipped around the perimeter, waiting for Dante's distraction. "Hey! I'm feeling a little peckish myself! How about you haul your sorry ass back through that gate, and I can go grab a pizza!"

I was nonplussed, to say the least. _This_ was his plan? How ridiculous! I reached the nearest batch of Seeds, slicing them easily with my blades, Lethe and Eunoe. I watched as Echidna growled and lunged at him. _Perhaps I underestimated his tactics._

He jumped, vaulted off her draconian head, and flipped back onto his feet halfway across the clearing from her. Enraged, she opened her mouth, revealing her alternate form, a humanoid female from the waist up in the center of a somewhat reptilian looking bloom. She planted herself into the ground, spreading the petals outward. Both nestlings ran towards her, Nero wielding Yamato, slicing her form with lethal precision, Dante using his guns and elemental blasts from Pazuzu to keep her vine like tentacles from whipping the younger male as he attacked her. She repulsed the two of them with a temporary protective sphere of demonic energy and launched into the air, once again in her dragon form.

Nero reached forth with his spectral hand, grabbed her tail, and hoisted himself onto her body. He ran up her length, despite her thrashing, and plopped down just behind her head. He shoved Yamato, saya and all into her draconian mouth crossways. He linked his knees around each end of the sword, much like a bit is held in place by a horse's bridle. Thus having control of her head, he began punching her between the eyes with his demonic right hand. She screamed, and he leapt off as she crashed back to the ground. Echidna lay there momentarily dazed, her long tail writhing.

Dante had gone to the other side of the clearing to eliminate some of the Seeds on that side when Nero had grabbed and mounted Echidna. He was now completely in her line of sight, quite noticeably destroying her precious children. She dove at him, clearly meaning to consume him whole. He evaded her neatly, knocking her between the eyes with an ice punch. She started to rise, only to have Dante's claymore shoved through her head, pinning her to the ground. Her tail thrashed as she tried fruitlessly to free herself, but Dante grabbed the hilt of Rebellion, now wearing Pazuzu again, and sent lightning streaming through his demonic blade. Her screams stopped abruptly, and she dissolved into pollen like dust. Nero had taken up the task of destroying the pods when Dante had become Echidna's target, and we finished the last of them as the younger son of Sparda approached.

"You want to take care of the gate, kid?" Dante asked. Nero nodded, sending a dimension cut across the clearing to the monolith. It fell into pieces, and the weather started to noticeably change. The jungle level temperature and humidity fell rapidly to a much more normal range for our altitude, and the odd plant life accordingly withered and died. The elder spawn turned to the younger.

"The safari was fun, kid, but how about we head for those headquarters? That aquarium won't deactivate itself."

"Aquarium?" I queried. Dante nodded thoughtfully, a dark look coming over his features.

"The Order has a room of tanks in their Academy laboratory. Tanks full of weird fluids and bodies, both whole and partial, demon and human. They have Nero's parents there."

"Nero's parents? Alive? Your brother is alive?"

Dante cocked a slight smile. "You remember I told you he's married, right?"

"That has nothing to do with it, youngling! Vergil was my friend, and I mourned his loss. Surely you understand that." I responded. He nodded.

"Are you two biddies going to stand around chatting all day, or are we going to go beat the shit out of Agnus?" Nero snapped. Dante grinned, throwing an elegant bow.

"After you."

"Whatever."

"We should find the Arm used for this gate before we leave." I pointed out. Dante nodded, walking towards the ruins of the obelisk. He reached for the glowing orb, catching and manifesting it. A long whip appeared in his hand. He looked it over questioningly, holding it up. I recognized it.

"Demeter," I said, "a useful tool, as well as a powerful Arm." I informed him. He cracked it a few times, then started twirling it around his form in a deadly sort of dance, the whip whistling through the air, cracking occasionally. He caught it and draped the Arm in neat loops from shoulder to opposing hip.

"What are we waiting around here for, kid? Lead on." He gestured around.

"We just need to pass through these ruins, then we should be at the bridge." Nero said. We followed him through the last of the ruins and came to the bridge in question. It was a long, white marble affair, supported by arches. The sun had set after we had defeated Echidna and her brood, and little of the terrain beyond was discernible. Nero spoke up again.

"So, gramps, you said you'd explain yourself."

"As you wish, youngling, but I do not believe that this is something that can be discussed while we are traveling and battling." I replied. The white-haired teen scowled.

"I'm all for a breather, kid." Dante said casually. Nero looked at him, as if searching for an ulterior motive, but finally shook his head.

"If we're going to be sticking around, we'd better go back to the ruins. If the Order catches us here at the bridge, they'll have the advantage."

When we were seated back in the clearing, I turned to Vergil's nestling.

"What is it you wish to know?" I asked. He considered briefly.

"Tell me about my father when you knew him."

I smiled. "As you wish, youngling." I repeated. "He had come to me for information years ago, information regarding his father, and the seals Sparda had placed…."


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N:**__ Okay, here's the next chapter. I hope you guys like it! ;P Yes, the very first is a scene from an earlier chapter. Frankly,_ I_ needed a refresher on Mara's memory, so I figured some faithful reader out there might well need one, too. It is the exact same memory he recalled to himself earlier, so you can feel free to skip to the first un-italicized portion if you wish. :)_

_One reminiscence is in thanks to a prompt by GinaeEvans on her wonderful list. ;D The related note attributed to Sparda comes directly from the game files. (Although they could have gotten it from Sparda, I suppose.)_

_As ever, thanks to all you readers out there. Please feel free to comment, either with a review, a PM, or both. :D_

_Special thanks to Be Rose. ;P_

_Jimli :D_

_"...Please leave your name, number, and the nature of your disclaimer at the tone." *BEEP!*_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Pause Menu: Library Files**

_"Are you Mara?" the young human-looking male asked. I studied him for a moment. He somewhat resembled a brother-in-arms I'd once known, even in his scent and the feel of his power. He was dressed in blues and carried a sheathed katana. I knew from his bearing and the scent of his power that he was not human, not fully, but I addressed him thus anyway._

_"What of it, human?" I asked casually, coolly. He visibly bristled._

_"I want information regarding Sparda and the seals he placed between the human and demon worlds." I turned from him, intent on ignoring him. A blue spectral sword appeared before me, blocking my path, and as I turned to face him again, the blade of the katana was at my throat. Naturally, I could have fought him, killed him, and been on my way, but two things stopped me. One, my own curiosity. This half-breed had boldly challenged and threatened me; not many of any strength in either world would do so knowing full well who I was. Two, the katana. Staring down its length, I recognized the rather beautiful Devil Arm: Yamato. As I had briefly suspected moments before, this was Sparda's spawn. Anger flashed through me. Two thousand years had not quite been enough for me to have forgiven his betrayal._

_"Why should I aid the spawn of that traitor?" I asked, less mildly than I had intended. The blade came up further, and he erected his carriage._

_"I grow weary of hearing of my father's betrayal to his liege. I see that you will not cooperate. A pity; my father's journal led me to believe you would be a valuable ally and asset." Anger tinged his voice, but so did disappointment. I was intrigued yet more. I smiled, pushing the blade from my throat gently but decisively._

_"I am also weary of hearing of his betrayal to Mundus. I cared not for that then, nor do I now. I care only about his betrayal to me. He disavowed me in front of our superiors. When he turned against Mundus shortly afterwards, I realized he had done so that I might keep my position and life in the demon world. He could have easily asked me to come with him instead; I would have joined him instantly. As it was, I too left the demon world, although much later. Admittedly, other demons do not call me a traitor; I had declared my intentions to find Sparda, and I did not disillusion any of them about my reasons why." The youngling before me had clearly known none of this. I mused over my thoughts for a moment._

_"What is it you wish to know, nestling?" A very human expression of surprise lit his features before he composed himself and sheathed Yamato._

"So that's how he learned about Temen-ni-gru, from you?" Dante demanded. I shook my head.

"Not at first. He wanted to know about Force Edge, yes, and the various seals Sparda had erected, but at first, he was mainly concerned with finding your father, or information on his fate, and avenging your mother's death."

"I told him what I knew, although most of that was by rumor: I had simply had no contact with Sparda after he left. I did know how to recognize his work, however. As I mentioned, Vergil sought me from the information left in some of your father's journals. Though I often asked him, he never revealed exactly what the journals said, nor did I ever see them. I believe, though I know not, those journals remain in your father's library."

Dante shrugged. "Perhaps. I haven't read everything in there, and Dad's personal diaries were never a priority for me. How'd you know about the library?"

I smiled at the half-breed. "Sparda was ever the hoarder of knowledge, and his cache of tomes disappeared with him, as well as a great portion of other demons' storehouses and armories. Sparda did more than turn arms against Mundus, he also brought with him much knowledge on demons, devils, and Devil Arms, in order to better aid the humans and allow the human world the opportunity to learn to aid themselves."

Dante laughed, but the younger half-breed frowned. "When the Order calls him the Savior, then, they aren't just referring to what he did for Fortuna, they also mean everything he provided for all humans."

"That may be, youngling, which makes whatever they are doing here and now the more outrageous, especially that they do so in Sparda's name."

"What was it exactly that _my_ father was after?" Nero asked. It was my turn to frown.

"Beyond what I've told you? I know not. At first, knowing so little of Vergil, I simply believed the reasons he gave. Later, knowing him better, I would have argued that his approach seemed unnecessarily roundabout for his goals."

"My brother was like that, even as a child. Did you ever play chess against him?"

"No. We rarely indulged in such activities. He was very focused on his goals; he believed everything else was a distraction at best, a waste of effort at worst."

_"I heard that Sparda ruled a small island called Fortuna after having sealed a true Hell Gate there. The humans even worshipped him, making him the central figure of their religion both during and after his rule, unto this day. The island is located off the coast-"_

_"I know of the island; my father's library resides there. What are the seals to the Hell Gate there?"_

_I indicated the katana in his hand. "Yamato is the main key. There are some wards and guardians, mostly the kind requiring cleverness instead of force, but the gate itself was sealed by Yamato's power." I paused a moment, judging his temperament. "I did not know your father's wealth of knowledge lay on that island."_

_He arched an eyebrow at me, a rare smile ghosting his lips. "The wards are blood based. I doubt Dante visits the library; I believe he works hard to forget his demonic nature and our father, but if ever he did, he would know if the wards were excessively disturbed. I have already retrieved the information I needed from there, and I do not intend to return."_

_"Of course, Vergil."_

_"I do not wish to go to that island at all, if I need not. I have decided you are correct, Mara. I have been too circumvent in my endeavors. I want to raise Temen-ni-gru."_

_I frowned. "That tower is accursed, in many respects. Of all the gates and places your sire sealed, that one should be breached only as a last resort, or not at all. Since you have possession of Yamato, I believe the For-"_

_"No!" Vergil snapped. "I do not wish to go there! Temen-ni-gru's gate is precisely where Force Edge lies. It will be a simple matter to retrieve it."_

_"Simple matter? Do you not realize what is involved in raising that damned tower? In opening the seal within it?" I tapped the notes Vergil had compiled from Sparda's journals. "You will need to find a priestess, pure of body, ideally a blood relation to the priestess Sparda used. Her line may no longer even exist. You would also require a payment of Sparda's blood."_

_He frowned. "I carry Sparda's blood, do I not?"_

_"But, forgive me, it has been somewhat diluted. You would need to give more than did your father. Perhaps too much more."_

_"There is another reserve of my father's blood." he reminded me with a cold and ugly look on his face._

_"You cannot mean to sacrifice your brother - your twin - to raise that abomination?" I looked at my friend, barely reconciling his words and demeanor with the youngling I'd first met. I shook my head. "It matters not. You still do not have the priestess' blood."_

_"She has a living line. The girl is young; no doubt she will be quite serviceable."_

_"How did you learn of this?" I asked slowly. He eyed me coldly._

_"You are hardly my only source of information."_

_"You refer to that dark magician with demonic abilities." I accused. He did not reply, but he needed not. I shook my head._

_"Vergil, your father was my friend, and I consider you the same. He sacrificed much to protect humans from the very evils you are talking of resurrecting. I implore you, do not do this!"_

_"Shall I assume your usefulness has ended?" he growled, hand on Yamato's hilt._

_"Do not draw, youngling." I warned. "If you intend to raise that tower, I shall not assist you," I hesitated, "but, I will not hinder you, out of respect for our friendship that was."_

_He removed his hand from his sword, turned his face from me, and nodded._

"I left his company, then. When I heard of his defeat and presumed death, I deeply regretted my decisions. Not only did I fail to talk him from his plans, I left him to the machinations of that demon charlatan. I chose not to oppose him, to stop him, though I believed he was making a grave error. A truer friend would have done so, or at least offered a warning, if not my assistance, to Dante, whom I knew he would target. Instead, I abandoned them both to fate and cursed myself later."

"You know," Dante mused, "regrets really don't interest me much, nor does self-pity."

"It was those very regrets that kept me from seeking you to avenge Vergil's death."

Dante shrugged. "Vergil made his decisions, you made yours, I made mine. You're not going to change any of it now. Your story did bring something important to mind, though: Arkham." He turned to his nephew. "You remember when we entered the forest, you mentioned that you didn't know why the Order had let that place go to ruin, kid?" Nero nodded, clearly not knowing where Dante was going with this line of reasoning any more than I.

Dante continued, "When we were confronted by Agnus, he mentioned all his research. They have managed to create false Hell Gates. Yeah, so they aren't as impressive as the true ones and sometimes only weak demons can come through them, but they still created functioning gates. Mara, you're familiar with Pop's seals; tell me, how different are they from the gates the Order has constructed?"

I frowned. "They are nothing like the seals; they are precisely the opposite-" I halted. "Do you mean to suggest they are just that, the exact opposite of Sparda's work?" He nodded.

"If I'm right, though, we have serious problems ahead. See, there are only a few ways they could have created such things in the manner they have. From someone who knows Sparda's methods or from the same sources Vergil used."

"Your brother did not have those journals, only his various notes. I am certain he left them in the library." I said slowly. Dante arched his eyebrow.

"The library here, on Fortuna. The library that needs a sample of Sparda's blood line to access? A blood line that has two different sources here, easily within the Order's grasp? Not only did Agnus have Nero nearly every day for eight years, but he's had Vergil in a tank for longer."

"But you said there were different wards, not just blood ones!" Nero interjected.

"Come on, kid, you've seen me break wards and seals the Knighthood had erected; it can be done, just like a lock can be picked, or a car can be hotwired. Having your or Verge's blood would make it a lot easier for some of them, though."

"What does that infernal magician have to do with this, youngling?" I asked. He shrugged.

"He was a human, but he acquired demonic abilities, took on demonic traits. Nero's adoptive brother has done the same, so has Agnus, and I'd be willing to bet others of the Knighthood. You told me that Sanctus mentioned other half-breeds, right, kid? Well, Jade wouldn't have known this, but born half-demons aren't really very common. Amiable relations between a human and a demon don't happen much and less amiable relations are usually fatal. There's Sparda's line, a clan of protectors on Dumary Island called the Vie de Marli, and only a few others I've heard about. Where did Sanctus find all of his? Arkham had this notion to set himself up as a god, much like these people set up my father as one. He needed Force Edge to acquire the power of Sparda, which is fine for one man, but how does an entire organization share a sword's power? Agnus mentioned the fruits of his research; I knew he was talking about the gates, and from what Credo had said, I knew that he also meant the demonization of the Knights. That aquarium, though. At first, I thought that it was related to their transformations, but now I'm not so sure. Why the humans, and the human parts if it's for their demonic alterations? There are still missing factors, and if they truly have breached the library, the answers will be found there."

"Okay, old man, so where's the library?"

"More importantly, where's the entrance the Order is using?" Dante corrected. The youngling frowned at his uncle.

"Why would that be important?"

"It would tell me a lot about what kind of information they have, what their sources are, and what other things they may have researching."

"How would that be true?" I asked.

"Ever been to the Smithsonian?" The younger nestling and I exchanged a look before shaking our heads. Dante nodded thoughtfully. "It's not just one building, it's a campus of sorts, each one specializing in a certain area. Related, and relative to one another, but separate. Sparda's library is like that, only not quite as spread out. There are different sections, each separated from the others. It's a collective, but getting into one section won't guarantee you the information from another. Naturally, I can go to any part I wish, as could Vergil. There are passages and entrances, but they are locked when not directly in use and just being in one part or another doesn't mean you even necessarily know the other parts exist."

"You still haven't explained what that has to do with those ruins, old man."

"I always use the same external entrance to the library, and I get to any other part using the interlibrary passes and doors. The Order may be using an entrance from somewhere else, possibly in those ruins of the Savior's seat of power. Why let it fall to ruin? To keep everyone else away from their secret."

"So you believe we should go to these ruins, search for their entrance, determine what part of the library they are accessing, and what they have learned." I supplied.

"What about finding Agnus and releasing my mom and dad?" Nero spat.

"Take it easy, kid. There's time enough at least to look. Agnus may well be there, trying to salvage his work, or stow it. If not, then knowing the development and purpose of those tanks may help us figure out how to disable and unlock them."

"Fine. Let's go." The teen rose to his feet and stalked back the direction we had first come. Dante and I also stood and followed, catching up with the impatient nestling quite soon, despite his quick pace.

The lack of opposition through the forest was unsettling, though it may have been because of the false gate's destruction. Nero took the lull as an opportunity to approach me once more.

"Would you tell me more about Vergil?" he asked quietly. "Maybe something more cheerful this time?"

I smiled. "How about I recite to you some anecdotes he told me from his childhood?" He nodded, keeping his eyes focused on the way ahead. "We were researching some of the wards, guards, and seals Sparda mentioned in his journals, even those belonging to gates we did not believe we would access. We wanted to be thorough in our knowledge in case something did not go as planned."

_"Just before you reach the pinnacle, there is a final guardian. He refers to it as 'Doppelganger the Deathvoid'." I said, frowning at the notes._

_"What is it, a barrier?"_

_"No, it seems to be a demon, although a lesser one. Sparda's note says, 'Demon that takes the same shape of his foes. His ability is produced by refracting light in various directions. Due to this, he is essentially a demon composed of shadow.'" I heard Vergil grunt laughter and looked at him, puzzled. He shook his head._

_"When we were children, I used to tease Dante. He was always so easily frightened over the silliest and strangest things. Once, I told him a horrific, very graphic story of shadows that would attack from behind, catching the unwary and devouring them with their darkness. This scared him so badly that on sunny days, he would relentlessly watch his and others' shadows to keep from being consumed. Our mother was unamused when he finally broke down and told her what I'd done. I was forced to do all of his chores as well as my own for a month."_

"I remember that!" Dante exclaimed, laughing.

Nero glanced at him, unimpressed. "So what, the half-devil is afraid of a few campfire ghost stories?"

"Kid, you have clearly never heard Vergil tell a 'campfire ghost story'. Any one of them would scare the boogeyman himself. I remember many sleepless nights caused by my brother's stories. Hell, once our father overheard one, and he was so disturbed that he forbade Vergil from telling them anymore." Dante shrugged. "Of course, that made me want to hear them all the more, but Vergil usually refused after that. Until he wanted to get even with me over something."

"So what was the story?" The younger nestling asked, but the older shook his head.

"Nah, kid. Have Vergil tell you himself when we rescue him." He frowned. "You know, I never even thought of that story when I faced Doppelganger. Funny."

"I once asked Vergil how close the two of you had been before the tragedy. I had assumed that you had died along with your mother, since Vergil was alone. He corrected me, however, and told me he knew you were alive. I asked him why you weren't together. He said that you had been separated after the mansion had been attacked, and that he hadn't known of your survival until later, but that you believed him dead."

_"But why would you allow your twin to continue believing in your death, Vergil? Shouldn't you reunite with him and try to be a family?"_

_"No. Dante is weak and needy. If I were in his life, he would cling to me. He would not want to avenge our mother, or find out what happened to our father. He would wish only to deny our past and our devilish heritage, under the illusion that he was 'moving on'. As is, he must face the world, become stronger."_

_"If he doesn't?"_

_"Then he will die, as did our mother."_

_"Do you believe that your mother was weak?" I asked bluntly._

_"No. She was not weak; she had weaknesses. Her children."_

_"I do not think that nestlings are weaknesses. You are stronger when you have something to protect, Vergil."_

_"What would you know of it? You have no family, no connections. You are hardly a weak devil."_

_"You're wrong. I have my connection to you, as I had with your father." I stated. He frowned._

_"You speak of being friends with my father," he said slowly, "even after his disavowal of you, his betrayal of his liege, and his abandonment of your world, as well as complete lack of contact with him for 2000 years. You could not have simply been friends. Were you lovers? Are you blood? What is your deeper connection?" I smiled._

_"I was a retainer of Sparda's family for many years, and it was my direct responsibility to care for him as a youngling. I was to train him, teach him, and protect him. I did those things, but he never treated me like a servant or bodyguard. He called me a brother-in-arms and a friend. He even told me that I was family, and truthfully, he knew me better than his family in many respects. Never were we passionate, youngling."_

_He nodded. "And is that why you help me?" I was mildly surprised; Vergil was not really one for the motivations of others._

_"Yes, I suppose that is true, after a fashion. In certain aspects, you remind me of your sire."_

Dante eyed me sagely. "You lied to him; you loved my brother." he stated rather bluntly. I nodded.

"I have never had a mate, nor nestlings. Your brother was young, and reminded me greatly of Sparda as he had been at a very young age, although you remind me more of the older Sparda. Yes, I loved him dearly." He grinned at me.

"I told you already, he's married." I opened my mouth to voice a protest, but Nero cut me off.

"Don't bother; the old man's always thinking with the wrong organ."

We arrived at the ruins they had discussed. Dante began carefully inspecting the walls and ground, presumably looking for signs of disturbance or usage. Nero's patience waned and his anger waxed until he summoned his strength and randomly punched a wall in frustration.

"This is getting us nowhere, old man!" he yelled. The wall shattered, despite being against an earth embankment, and revealed a passageway with a demonic barrier. Dante cocked a grin.

"Why'd you let me look so long if you knew where it was, kid?"

Nero scowled. Dante examined the barrier.

"It requires activation. Look for a switch." I let them go about their search, catching sight of Sparda's visage on a far wall. I brushed my fingers over the image, reminiscing over our service. A small click from under my fingers jarred my thoughts and sent a rumble through the area. The barrier broke, and we proceeded through the door beyond into the infamous library of Sparda.


	18. Chapter 18

**_A/N: _**_All right, next chapter at last! Good news everyone: I basically know how this story is going to go from here onward, so the updates should be a little faster, and we should be wrapping up soonish._

_Usual warnings about language, of course._

**_Disclaimer:_**_ There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination, where I actually own Devil May Cry. It is an area which we call the_ Twilight Zone_._

_Jimli ;P_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 04: Time Enough at L(e)ast**

With everything that Dante had been telling me all day about this library of the Savior's, I guess I thought it would look…different. We walked through this dirt tunnel straight out of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ and came into a round room. The walls were inlaid with huge stone blocks, all curved to make the area a perfect circle. The tunnel we'd come through was behind us, and two other tunnels led out of the room, each at an angle from our position. The three doors divided the round room equally.

"So which way do we go, old man?" I asked. I was expecting a flippant comment, but he ignored me and wandered to the right hand tunnel, looking it over carefully before angling towards the left hand tunnel and inspecting it. He closed his eyes briefly, then walked to the wall opposite the tunnel we'd come in.

"Tch." I grunted, impatient with all this. Why couldn't we just go to Headquarters, find Agnus, beat the answers out of him, _then_ come back to see what they'd disturbed in Dante's precious library? I started towards the left door.

"I wouldn't do that, youngling." came Mara's quiet voice. "Breached or not, I've no doubt that this library still holds many traps and wards for the unwary."

"Damn it! What the hell are we even doing here?! I say we find Agnus, beat the living shit out of him, destroy that creepy ass aquarium, and then come back to fix your damned library!"

Dante chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good, kid, but I have a hunch this may need to be done now. Wouldn't want those assholes destroying parts of this place to cover their tracks, would we?"

"They don't even know that we know they've been here! Why would they destroy it?"

"I would." Dante answered simply. I clinched my fists in anger.

Dante turned back to me and cocked his head, his pale eyes icy. "Here, kid. I'll let you have the honors. Do a good job, now," he admonished, "this seal is one of Pop's barriers, it might require more of my diluted blood to open it." He spread his arms out wide, inviting an attack. I eyed him warily, not liking this shift from his usual demeanor.

"What are you-?"

"What's the matter, kid? Afraid you won't be able to cut me, or afraid of what I'll do afterwards?"

"Fine, old man!" I drew Yamato and rushed him, intending to slash him from shoulder to hip. Except on the down stroke, he caught the blade, cut his hand on it, and thrust its bloodied tip into the wall behind him.

"What the fu-!" I cut off when I saw the wall melt away, revealing a fourth tunnel, this one lined in colored orb-like gems and what looked like bones.

"What the hell was that about?!" I demanded, whirling on Dante.

"Mara was right _and_ wrong, kid. Yeah, those other ways will lead into the library, but they are littered with things. One of them is the route the Order habitually uses, I'm sure, maybe even both of them. They both reek of demons and blood. I knew my father wouldn't use an obvious and troublesome access like that, not unless he had someone else with him. I tried my blood alone," gesturing to the vanished wall, "but it didn't work. I figured it required some other signature of Sparda's."

Mara smiled. "You could have drawn your own sword, Rebellion." he pointed out.

"Yamato has a stronger connection to my father, and this was more fun." Dante smirked. I pulled the sword from the wall, reabsorbed it, and punched him, right-handedly. I stalked around him, trying to ignore his laughter as I went down the corridor. Stupid jerk, always playing games with me.

"_Do_ we have time for this side trip, Dante?" Mara asked quietly, "I know this is important, and it is possible that the Knighthood will try to rid themselves of evidence, but they are obviously accelerating their plans already-"

"And Vergil said he was dying, remember?" I cut in angrily. "That was _before_ I called you. I don't know how long he can hold out."

"Especially since he gave you Yamato, kid, yeah, I know. But for this? There's time enough."

"Vergil has spoken to you, youngling?" Mara asked sharply. I looked back at him, noticing he'd stopped in the corridor.

"Yeah, I guess you don't know about that. He met me in some kind of dream thing."

"Dream?" Mara asked.

"Dante said it was some sort of devil trick."

"Ah. A sweven." he said, nodding. I looked at the old man, but it seemed like he hadn't known the word, either.

"He's been doing it since I was little, I just didn't know who he was. That's where I got Yamato, somehow."

"And in sweven he told you he was dying?"

I nodded. He looked at Dante. "Describe this aquarium."

Dante shrugged. "Lots of clear, unbreakable tubes filled with varying colors of bubbling liquid, most containing either parts of demons and/or humans, or whole, seemingly living demons or humans. Nero's mother, Jade, and Vergil are each in one."

"The purpose?"

"Like I said earlier, I originally thought it had something to do with their 'becoming demons' research, but that doesn't quite add up, not with the humans, especially."

"No, it doesn't. I once saw the plans for a complex alchemy rite that sounds…similar." He started, then shook his head. "I must go." he said abruptly before he focused on me. "Youngling, I know it is much to ask, but would you be willing to loan me Yamato?" I reflexively summoned the katana, but gripped it tightly, eyeing the devil suspiciously.

"What for?" I demanded.

He smiled again. "If you do not wish to part with it, I truly understand, but I will ask you for it once more: might I borrow Yamato?"

It was my honest instinct to bark a no at him and give him a piece of my mind for asking, but Yamato throbbed. I looked at my father's katana, seeing nothing out-of-the-ordinary about it, but I noticed that something else was in my hand, under the sword. I shifted Yamato to my left hand to see what it was and saw my amulet there, Mom's pendant still beating within it.

"Here," I thrust the sword at him, looking at the floor. I couldn't explain even to myself why I was giving it to him, and I sure as hell didn't want to see the look on Dante's face.

"Thank you, nestling."

"Take this, too." I said, tossing the amulet to him on impulse. I heard him catch it before I started down the creepy corridor again. As his footsteps receded, I finally heard what I'd been waiting for: the old man's annoying commentary.

"You know kid, that leaves you unarmed." he pointed out, but I shook my head.

"You gave me that Arm from the courtyard gate, remember?"

"So I did." he mused in this way that made me wonder if he had really forgotten or not.

"Still playing games with me, old man?" I growled.

"More than you know, kid. You haven't summoned that Arm yet."

Growling, I did, just to see what he was going on about. The bright orb coalesced into a big black two-handed sword. I looked at Dante, but he had that shit-eating grin on his face, like there was some joke I was missing.

"I've had it, old man!" I snapped. He'd seemed helpful at first, but all of his stupid games, his cryptic remarks, his habit of picking and choosing what things to tell me, his baiting, his bossiness - it was too much.

I grabbed the sword with both hands, charging him. I caught sight of one last arched eyebrow before he grabbed Rebellion and tricked out of the way. He dodged to his right, and I shifted to catch him. I swung the Arm in huge horizontal passes, and Dante barely dodged them. With every swing, blue and violet flames covered the blade. I paused and gathered my energy to channel it. The flames intensified, and when I swung at Dante, the energy flames flew from the sword at him in a rush.

"What the hell...?" I forgot about the fight, staring at the big black-bladed sword. I turned to Dante. "What _is_ this thing?"

"Feeling better, now? Not still angry at me?" He was teasing me again, but I just nodded.

"That," he said, pointing at the Devil Arm, "is Nero Angelo's zweihander."

I started. "What did you say?"

"That's right, kid. Just like your name. You said your mom picked your name, right? I'm not sure how much Vergil ever told her about his past, though I'm doubting his time as Mundus' henchman ever came up." He frowned. "I'm not exactly sure how the Order found _that_, either." he said, pointing at the sword.

"I suppose this is yet another thing you're not going to fully explain." I sighed.

"Suffice it to say that Mundus brainwashed and enslaved Verge within a powerful, warped version of his own trigger that Mundus called 'Nero Angelo'. That was the form I found him in when we fought the last time, right before I made him come to Devil May Cry. That zweihander was his weapon." He eyed the sword curiously.

"You know," he mused, "I thought at first that the sword was an equally warped version of Yamato. Or maybe the one he fought me with _was_, and _that_ is a Devil Arm later formed from Angelo's power." He shrugged. "Shall we, kid?" he asked, gesturing further down the corridor.

We reached another junction; this one was a squarish room with a closed door set in every wall. I expected Dante to pick a corner or maybe even the ceiling, but instead he chose the door on the right, jabbed Rebellion into it, then pulled it out, and turned the knob as if stabbing a door with an over-sized claymore were the normal way of opening it.

"You devils are weird bastards." I muttered as I followed him into a book-filled room. There were other doors that led into the room, most of which had those swirling red barriers over them, but the majority of the walls and floor space of the cavernous room was covered in shelves which were in turn covered in great leather-bound tomes, scrolls in tubes, tablets covered in silk, piles of tissue thin parchment and who knows what all else. I looked at Dante, who was staring around almost as much as I had been.

"What are we searching for, again?" I asked.

"Anything that's been disturbed. I haven't been in this part of the library since I was a kid, and we know Vergil hasn't been here or anywhere else in nearly twenty years. Anything that has been messed with will have been the Order's doing." For the first time, I heard a tight, dangerous anger in his voice.

"Is this library that important to you?" I asked quietly.

"It's practically all I have of my parents."

I nodded. I gripped the knapsack with Vergil's sketchbook a little tighter; I suddenly knew _exactly_ how he felt, and I could imagine how it would feel if someone uninvited started profaning something that precious to me.

The disturbed section was harder than I thought to find, due to the sheer size and efficiency of space used in the library. Leafing through the shelves, my impatience rose again.

"Damn it, old man, I _still_ don't know what we're looking for." I growled. I chucked the book I'd been looking at moments before and regretted it as soon as it left my grip. Dante gave me a sharp look, and I looked at the floor, muttering an apology as I fetched the book, dusted it off, and gingerly returned it to the shelf.

"Here, kid. You might like this." He tossed a leather-bound journal at me before turning back to the shelves. I opened it curiously.

"What is this?"

"A book my father wrote for Vergil regarding weapon styles for Yamato. He did one for me, too, for Rebellion. I thought they were lost in the fire. Guess I should visit my local library more often." He chuckled as I tucked the book into the knapsack with the sketchbook and turned back to the shelves.

Soon we had a small pile of things that had been rifled through recently. Dante frowned.

"This stuff," he said, indicating a pile of leather-bound books tied together with a golden silk ribbon, "is a selection of Sparda's journals, probably taken, perused, and tied together by Vergil." He pointed at the ribbon as evidence. I nodded my agreement: it was identical to the one tied around Yamato's sheath.

"Most of this stuff," he gestured to another pile of assorted tomes, scrolls, and loosely bound papers, "isn't in my father's handwriting. They must be things he acquired."

"Or stole, according to Mara."

He nodded, picking up an obviously much leafed through book and skimming its pages.

"Here, this look familiar, kid?" The diagram in the book showed an array of tubes with floating figures in them. It was much more orderly and less extensive than the 'aquarium', but it was definitely the same concept.

"What's it for?" I asked as he started scanning the surrounding pages.

"Exactly what Dr. Freakenstein said: producing the Savior." he replied.

* * *

I left the tunnels as quickly as I could and took flight as soon I exited. I knew the younglings must have encountered the rite room at the place so pretentiously called 'Academy', so I flew for town. It was still dark, which helped shield my approach from any observers. I returned to my human guise just before entering the building and focused on Yamato, hoping to use it as a dowsing rod for the lab. This, however, turned out unnecessary. Apparently the two younglings had caused a lot of destruction as they had exited, making the lab with Dante's so-called aquarium quite easy to find. I carefully examined the tubes as I passed through the final section, confirming my suspicions on what this room was truly for. In the back, I found my friend. I glanced at the woman in the next tube, concluding her to be his mate and Nero's mother. I smiled.

"I won that bet, nestling. A more perfectly human mate you could not have found." I commented, looking over her petite form.

I drew Yamato, triggered once again, and focused my demonic energy into the blade. I knew these tubes would be very difficult to destroy, and I was prepared to drain myself completely if needed to break Vergil out. I regretted not being able to retrieve his wife, or any of the other poor souls still alive in the other tubes, but I wasn't entirely sure I could even get Vergil out.

Vergil. He was the nestling I'd never had in many ways, and I poured those feelings into the sword along with everything else. I took a stance with both hands gripping the hilt, and I slashed the surface of the tube pushing all of my energy into the cut.

The tip of the katana dropped to the floor, and I nearly dropped with it. I was once again in my human form, panting, having expended everything in that cut. The tube still stood, undamaged. Dejected, I shakily sheathed the sword. Just as the hilt snicked against the saya, I saw beads of blue fluid form on the surface of the tube shortly before the entire thing fell into two pieces, showering me with liquid and dropping Vergil's form onto the floor. I cautiously stepped forward, watching him warily.

"Vergil?" I intoned, my voice barely a whisper. "It is I, Mara. Can you hear me?"

His pale blue eyes snapped open.


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: **__Hooray! I met my own, self-imposed deadline, albeit barely._

_Usual warnings about language, as well as violence._

_If you have any questions or comments, please PM me. As always, I look forward to reviews, and thanks to everyone who favorites, follows, and/or reviews!_

_Jimli ;P_

**_Disclaimer:_**_ There is nothing wrong with your computer screen. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it bigger, we will bring up the font size. If we wish to make it smaller, we will tune it to an eight. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next half hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and read, except the rights to Devil May Cry. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your computer screen. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to — The Outer Limits._

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 05: Blood Vs. Water**

"We must clear out anything regarding Agnus' projects from the library, Lieutenant. His Holiness believes that the source materials must be kept away from Dante and Nero." a male voice came from one of the side tunnels. Nero and I both looked up from the book with the rite in it. Another male voice, younger this time, answered.

"But Commander, from all I've heard of Dante, he's all brawn, no brain." The kid grinned at me. "He won't know what to make of the source stuff. And Nero? I've studied with Nero. He's impatient and brash. I'd find it more likely for him to storm the Headquarters, cutting down any in his path, screaming for Agnus to come out and face him." I returned the grin.

"Just keep your fucking mouth shut, old man." he muttered darkly.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked somberly. I knew he'd recognized the first voice: it was Credo, his adoptive brother. He nodded grimly, which kind of scared me, deep down. One should never be ready to fight with family. I grabbed the book, shelved it, and quietly broke the barrier in front of the tunnel they'd be entering from. I glanced once more at Nero, who jerked his thumb at himself. He wanted to take Credo. I nodded, understanding his feelings and motivation: I'd felt the same when facing down Vergil.

"Again I tell you, _do not underestimate Dante_. He is the Savior's son, and a true heir to his power." Credo spoke up again.

"Sure, Commander," came the younger knight's reply, laced with a humoring tone, "whatev-, hey, didn't he reactivate the barrier?" A sound of swords being drawn floated in, just before the younger man entered.

"Don't!" Credo's warning came too late. I grabbed the lieutenant, broke the wrist holding his sword, and slammed him against the wall, knocking him out or killing him, I didn't know. Credo used the small frame of distraction the knight provided to rush in and get around me.

"Hey," Nero called softly. Both of us looked toward the teen. He held Angelo in hand, but he was looking at his feet instead of his opponent. The devilish voice in my head wanted to berate him, and the human voice wanted to reassure him. I did neither; I just waited to see what he did next.

"I said before that you were too important to the Knighthood's plans to kill, boy. That has not changed. Put down the Devil Arm; I don't wish to harm you."

The kid smiled humorlessly. "That's too bad, Credo," he said, lifting his head to look at the older knight, a cold look in his cobalt eyes, "because I wish to harm you." There was none of his usual temper or passion in his voice as he spoke, and Credo must have noticed too, because his posture subtly changed as he prepared for the fight. I briefly despaired for my library, but knew there wasn't much I could do about it now.

They began slowly circling, Credo in full defensive posture, Nero not even crouched. The older knight seemed unnerved by the younger one's casual attitude; he triggered and sent a spear of demonic energy at Nero. The kid lifted Angelo, summoned the flames, and let the spear clatter against the broad side of the blade. The commander sent another spear, then rushed in its wake. Nero deflected the spear with a diagonal slash and caught Credo's blade with the backswing. He shoved the tip of the knight's blade down and reached over the crossed swords to punch him in the face, knocking him backwards, off-balance. Nero rushed him, furiously slashing and swinging, finally showing emotion. Credo reeled, barely deflecting and dodging, losing ground, never regaining his footwork.

The older man shifted and took a glancing cut, but slipped out of Nero's immediate strike range. He came at the kid from the side, throwing _him_ off-balance, forcing _him_ on the defensive. Nero backed into a shelf and Credo thrust at him. The kid barely dodged and kicked at Credo's feet as he rolled away from the older knight's strike. The kick missed, but he got back up, and they began circling again. They went for each other at the same time, their blades meeting with concussive force. Blade-locked, Nero went for another punch, but the commander caught his hand in his own. A bright blue phantom blade appeared from nowhere, stabbing the older man in the shoulder. He gripped his bleeding shoulder, letting go Nero's hand, and Nero followed through on his punch. Credo hooked Nero's blade as he fell back and wrenched it from the kid. It flipped through the air, impaling the table that Nero and I had been using to sort through the books earlier. Credo thrust forward, stabbing Nero in the gut. He cried out, clutching at the hole as the knight pulled out the sword. The kid removed his hand from the wound and flung his blood at Credo's face. As he flinched, Nero summoned more phantom blades and sent them flying at the white-clad knight. Every one of them found its mark in his body, and Credo crumpled, dropping his sword and returning to his human form. The kid walked calmly to the table, pulled Angelo from it, and stalked back to the man he had called family for all of his life.

Credo raised his head, still impaled by the bright blue blades.

"Do you intend to kill me, boy?" he asked weakly, a smile playing faintly on his features. Nero hesitated and looked at me. I stared back at him, giving nothing away, wanting _him_ to make this choice, for good or ill. He nodded.

"I should, maybe. You conspired against me, betrayed my mother, and lied to me and Kyrie, when all the three of us had ever done was love and care for you. Even now I don't think you believe you were wrong, do you?"

"The Order's work-"

"Save it, Credo! You spew out more of that 'greater good' shit and I may kill you yet!"

As his temper flared, so did his demonic energy, and the flames rose on Angelo's surface. Nero closed his eyes, visibly trying to calm himself, and he shook his head. "No," he finally edged out, "I'd never do to Kyrie what you did to me." The magical blue blades shattered, leaving Credo punctured and bleeding, but alive. He took Credo's sword and stabbed it into the floor near his hand.

"Dante may think I'm crazy, and Kyrie may hate me anyway for hurting you, but I won't kill you." He looked at me. "Come on, let's go find Agnus and rescue my family." _I _saw Credo wince as Nero said that, but the kid was already headed towards the door, never once looking back. I turned to follow him.

"Wait," the knight's voice called softly. I turned to look at him over my shoulder. "In Agnus' lab. You said something…something about gaining power but losing strength. I never imagined Nero would defeat me so easily. Is that what you meant?"

I considered. "My brother told me something once, 'Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself.' The thing is, Vergil was sort of right, but he had it backwards. You get your strength from the need to protect. When you give up your humanity, you lose the will to protect."

"His Holiness' plan...the Savior is to protect us all." he said fervently, almost pleadingly, but I couldn't tell if he was begging me to believe that, or himself.

I snorted. "Benevolently minded leaders don't groom little kids to be sacrifices, kidnap concerned and loving mothers, or turn the protectors of their town into demons." I replied as I walked through the door, trailing after my nephew.

* * *

The sudden rush of air was new, a sensation that I hadn't felt in…. I didn't even know how long. The sensations of the sweven I'd found my son in were in no way as real as this. I felt my body hit the ground; the hard, smooth surface was cold against my bare, wet skin. A voice spoke from above me, a whispered sound that was passingly familiar. If not for my conviction in the feeling of the floor and the ache from having hit it, I might have believed I had died, that I was hearing my father's voice after all these years. I opened my eyes and tried to assess my surroundings and situation.

"Vergil!" The relief in that masculine whisper was unmistakable, but it was not my father's voice, nor my brother's. I rolled away from the voice, struggling to rise. A shoulder came under my arm despite my resistance. I pushed my white hair from my eyes, noting its undesirable length, and the matching over-long facial hair. I grimaced, then looked at the man supporting me. He smiled from under his purple and black bangs.

"Mara?" I asked, not concealing my incredulity at seeing him again.

"Hello, nestling. Can you stand?"

I pulled from him, feeling strength returning to my body, and I noticed Mara's apparent weakness. I moved to help him sit, but he shook his head.

"No, Vergil. There is no time to rest. I know not if there is an alert on this 'aquarium', but with the chaos the younglings have been wreaking, no doubt the Knighthood will routinely check this place." He gave a small laugh. "Indeed, I am surprised I did not run into any knights coming here."

I looked around the tube-filled room. Too many questions filled my mind, but if Mara was here bidding me to hurry, this was hardly the time to ask them. He straightened and smiled once more.

"You will need this." he said, offering the sword he carried. I frowned.

"How did you come by Yamato?" I asked, suspicion filling my thoughts as I grasped the Arm I'd given my son.

"Your nestling and nestmate are here, on Fortuna. They are still at your father's library. I borrowed Yamato in hopes I could release you. It worked, but I am severely drained of my own power. We should meet up with the younglings."

I nodded. He would answer all my other queries later, one way or another. I took a step towards the exit, but Mara caught my shoulder.

"There is one other thing you should see before we leave, but know there is nothing else we can do here."

I nodded again and allowed him to turn me around. I noticed the remains of the tube I had no doubt occupied, then I saw the one closest to mine, filled with purple fluid.

"No," I breathed, walking towards it. Inside Jade, my wife, floated. "Marshmallow," I called softly, grazing the clear front with my fingers. I straightened and caught sight of my ghostly reflection on the tank. I drew Yamato, grabbed a fistful of my hair as close to the scalp as possible, and sliced the hair off. I did the same with the beard. They were both rough jobs, although an improvement, especially since I was headed to battle. After seeing the condition my belovéd mate was in, there was no doubt that many would die under my blade.

"Here, youngling," Mara said, offering a large, curved knife to me. "See if that helps." The humor in his voice was unmistakable in its familiarity. Again, questions bubbled in my mind, but I took the knife and barbered myself instead of asking them. Finished, I was far from satisfied, but had at least eliminated the liability of long hair. Mara glanced at me from the corner of his eye, a soft smirk on his face.

"The resemblance between the two of you is quite remarkable, even for being devils."

I scowled and raked my fingers through my hair. I glanced down at my naked form, wishing I had some sort of clothing; too many soft parts were far too unprotected. I shook my head, gave my marshmallow one last look, and turned towards the exit with Mara, my old friend.

"What are we up against?" I asked.

"The Knights of the Order of the Sword."

I looked at him sharply. "That cult that worships my father?"

"Yes," he replied, nodding, "they have raided Sparda's library, stolen the knowledge to build that 'aquarium', as Dante calls it, to resurrect their Savior, and developed an efficient way to turn their members into half-demons. They also seem to have reverse-engineered your father's sealing process to create false Hell Gates. Besides letting loose demons and devils, the gates may have another purpose, one aimed at their loftier goals." He hesitated, sparing a glance at me, no doubt gauging my mood and temperament; it was a habit of his I knew well. "They were planning on somehow using your nestling, Nero, as an integral part of the resurrection."

I nodded curtly at his words. "You are familiar with their chosen method of resurrection?"

"Only vaguely. I had seen plans for such a rite room before, and I am versed enough in demonic alchemy to make educated guesses."

I nodded again. "Strange we have encountered no one."

"Perhaps Dante and Nero are keeping them well occupied."

"Perhaps." I conceded. "Shall we join them in the library?"

"No, I believe we should fly for the Knighthood Headquarters, where the three of us had been headed before Dante figured on the need to check the library. There is a clearing near there where we can begin our approach."

"Very well." We both triggered and took flight. I kept a position slightly behind and below Mara's, in case he required assistance, but we reached his chosen landing zone without incident.

We were in a wooded area, in a clearing that reeked of demons and blood. Some ruins lay strewn about, and there was much evidence of battle. Mara smiled.

"One of the false gates had been here, powered by a Devil Arm known as Demeter. Echidna the she-viper made herself and her Seeds quite at home in this place."

"You destroyed her?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head, "your youngling and twin fought her. Although Dante gave her the killing blow, your nestling fought her well, with cunning, courage, and strength." He considered for a moment.

"Your twin is very unlike you. When I suggested a distraction, he brazenly walked into the clearing, challenging and baiting her in an insultingly casual manner. I admit, I believed him quite foolish."

"You're not wrong." I answered before admitting, "His methods are effective."

We cautiously made our way to a long white stone bridge leading to a sizable building across a strait. We encountered no resistance, which led me to believe that the Knighthood was either _very_ occupied with my brother, or they were laying a trap. I glanced around; Dante's battles are almost always destructive, and the obvious lack of such a disruption made the trap much more likely.

Mara frowned. "I do not like this…quiet. This venture has been fraught with demons and devils of all strengths since I picked up your twin's trail. This lull has lasted too long." He looked at me briefly. "We fought Echidna as the sun set; it is well past midnight now, and we have since encountered no other demons, nor the Order themselves." I nodded; that only deepened my belief in an upcoming trap.

As we reached the far side of the bridge, the portcullis dropped, and several armored creatures materialized, surrounding us. I quirked a smile at Mara.

"Speak not of the devil, lest he surely come for you." I dropped into a stance and waited for an attack. One knight came at me. I stepped towards him, swinging Yamato, still sheathed. I struck him once, and again with the backswing before drawing, slicing through the armor. I was only momentarily surprised to find that it was an empty suit of armor. I turned to another, dodging into the air as it thrust its lance at me, and came down at an angle, foot drilling straight into the demon's exposed backside. It fell, stood, and hopped into the air, thrusting its entire body's momentum behind the strike. I jumped straight up to meet it head-on, and cut it with a flurry of strikes. It fell to the ground in hollow pieces before evaporating. Mara, apparently still weak, was only just holding off a similar knight demon with his familiar twin wave blades. I focused, sending numerous phantom blades in a downward spiraling circle around his attacker. They spun into tighter and tighter circles before finally piercing into its body. Mara quickly took the opportunity to finish the demon as it stood stunned. I tricked to him, the supremely quick movement disorienting the knight that had been coming to face me next.

"These demons are quite weak, easy to defeat, and yet…" he shrugged. I smiled at him.

"You always _did_ let sentimentality outweigh propriety. It would have been far more tactical and prudent to have remained with my brother and spawn than to drain yourself in an attempt to fetch me."

"You're welcome, Vergil."

Another knight came at us, this one somewhat different looking than the others, and clearly acting as a commander for the few remaining armor demons.

The three remainders attacked in a three-directional formation on its command. I jumped straight up, avoiding all three, and flew at the leader. I stabbed him with Yamato and sliced the blade sideways through the torso. Blood sprayed before he dissolved, proving this armor had not been empty, and I landed carefully, facing the lesser armors. Once again disorganized, they came at me erratically, and I cut them down easily. I started to turn to Mara once more, but a movement from the roof caught my attention. The sudden flurry of activity upon being spotted aroused my suspicions, and I leapt from one outcropping to the next to reach the roof.

Once there, a demonic barrier materialized behind me, effectively cutting me off from Mara. I cursed myself; that sort of impetuousness was much better suited to my brother, and now I was facing not one, but three opponents. They were very uniform in appearance and strong in presence, and far more laconic than even myself.

"Shit biscuits," I cursed, then laughed as I realized one of Jade's ridiculous curses had escaped me. "For you, then, my marshmallow." I said as I prepped for the upcoming fight.

* * *

_We now return control of your computer screen to you. Until next update some time, when the control voice will take you to — The Outer Limits._


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: **__This chapter is up so soon because the next is kind of short. Of course, the usual warnings about language and violence._

_A note on pronunciation: This mission's title is 'Tehrt-zuh Ree-muh' Bonus points to anyone who figures out the significance! ;)_

_Three names that appear later on in the chapter, 'Prime', 'Terce', and 'None', are pronounced: 'Pree-may', 'Tehr-chay', and 'Noh-nay'. Again, bonus points for significance. And don't look them up, or no bonus! XD_

_A lot of POV shifts, including a new voice at the beginning._

_Jimli ;P_

**_Disclaimer: _**_I actually do the rights to Devil May Cry, but they're buried under all these damned Tribbles!_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 06: Terza Rima**

When I heard of the awful predicament with the younger son of Sparda and that troublesome spawn of the elder son's, I naturally went straight to His Holiness to offer my services as a loyal servant and capable Knight. I was interrupted by the commander before I actually _reached_ His Holiness, of course, but that is hardly my fault.

Supreme Commander Credo delegated to me the task of gathering my belovéd Angelo corps to guard the entrance to the Headquarters. I frowned. Naturally, I have only the utmost respect for our commander and would never _dream_ of being insubordinate, but I heartily disagreed with his logic.

"Commander," I started, "if those two half-breeds are at Academy, then surely it would be most prudent to head to the town and stop them from wreaking more havoc."

He frowned at me, perhaps weighing the wisdom of my words. "They are not interested in 'wreaking havoc', Corporal Homily. They are set on releasing Vergil and the boy's mother from the cantrap array. To that end, I've no doubt they will come after Agnus. The boy knows well that Agnus, like all the knights, has living and working space at Headquarters."

"Then why not send my corps to Fortuna Castle? I assure you, Commander, we will stop them before they come nigh Agnus!"

"The castle, mine town, and forest all have Gates, with plenty of lesser demons surrounding them. The Headquarters does not, and rightly so. We do not need those petty demons roaming about the Knighthood's stronghold. We _do _need the knights there to protect it if those two should make it that far."

"Is it so certain they can? Not all of the demons guarding the Gates are petty lessers, after all, as you well know, Commander. Some powerful devils indeed have come through, no doubt enticed by the Knighthood's obvious strength!" The commander looked at me very strangely just then, but I continued, so as to make my point clear. "Yes, Dante is a son of Sparda, but he is only a half-breed, and the bloodline is further diluted in Nero! They will be facing pure devils, straight from the demon world itself!"

"All the more reason to have your Angelo corps at our gates, in case those two do make it past." the commander replied. I straightened with pride at my commander's words and his faith in my corps. His lips quirked faintly, but he quickly regained his stoic composure. Of course, he couldn't show such _overt_ pride in me, so I slipped him a wink to let him know I knew, and I went to the barracks to raise my corps.

As I led the troop through Headquarters towards the bridge, a trio of Knights came into the foyer. I admit, I openly gaped at them for a moment or two, but even the Supreme Commander would give pause when faced with _these_ Knights. They were dressed in white, as are all Knights, but the tailed cut of their double-breasted, gold trimmed coats were quite distinctive, as were the gold and white pauldrons, pectoral breastplates, and greaves. Each carried a straight-bladed, single edged sword with a unique, Eastern-style guard cut to resemble golden angel wings, and a large amethyst pommel. They _must _be the almost mythical Trinity knights.

I had been to the cantrap many times, as a course of my Knightly duties, and had seen the preserved elder son of Sparda, Vergil. These three were easily his height and build, formidable enough for the two males of the Trinity, but one of them was female! I shook my head, staring at the three golden haired Knights until my gaze drew their attention. One right after another, they turned my direction, focusing pale gold eyes passively on me.

I paused, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. If half the stories I'd heard about these three were true! An impertinent Knight who had irritated them and was consequently cut into bits, screaming; His Holiness himself was the only one with authority to direct them; the Trinity was the only three remaining survivors of an intense training and Ascension that Agnus derived from the most secret places of the demon world; the Trinity was His Holiness' personal assassination and elimination squad. I shuddered. On the other hand, I reminded myself, they were also reputed to be ten feet tall, draconian in appearance, blood-drinkers, and fire-breathers. They obviously weren't _those_ things, so why would the other tales, though slightly more credible, be true, either? Thusly calmed, I smiled at them.

"You are the Trinity, are you not? Prime, Terce, and None?" I received a curt nod from first one male, then the other, then the female. I nodded myself. "Very good. You have your orders, then?" Another nod, nearly, but not quite, in unison. Satisfied that I had demonstrated myself friendly, respectful, and unafraid, I turned to my Angelos. Without a word from me, they halted, allowing the Trinity to exit before us.

I set a half dozen of my Biancos and one Alto in the circus between the bridge and the doors and assumed a watch from the guard tower. Imagine my surprise when the two who came across the bridge were not Dante and _Nero_, but some other devil, dark-haired and dressed in black. I frowned at Dante's state of undress, as well, and what _was_ that sword he was carrying?

As I watched the battle between the first squad of Angelos play out, I came to realize something most dreadful: that was _not_ Dante battling in the buff. If not Dante, it _must_ be Vergil, but how did Vergil become freed? Did the commander know this? Should I allow him to be killed? As I was still trying to determine the best course of action, he dispatched the last of the squad and hopped for the roof. I nearly sent more Angelos after him, but I noticed the Trinity just in time. I knew they would, of course, take the _appropriate_ action, so I directed my Angelos after the spare.

He pulled a mated pair of wave bladed swords from under his long, black coat. The first pair of Biancos, led by an accompanying Alto, came at him with a pincer maneuver. He skipped backwards, effectively dodging them, but coming into the Alto's strike range. At the last moment, he danced around the Alto, catching it with a quick flurry of cuts on its more vulnerable back. The Biancos both thrust forward, from different positions, one on the ground, one airborne. He came forward, trying fruitlessly to engage the Alto. The ground-based Bianco caught one of his attacks and immediately countered, lancing his shoulder. He dropped to a knee, crying out in pain as he clutched the wound. I signaled them to attack again and watched in horror as he ripped through both Biancos and the Alto in a furious rally of slashes, clearly not as disabled as he'd seemed.

I signaled two more such trios to his position and raced down the tower towards the circus. I heard the sounds of metal clashing and the dark-haired devil's voice and arrived in time to see all six dissolve into nothingness.

I rallied the remaining Angelos, three Altos and seven Biancos, and prepared to engage him as well. The Biancos rushed at him in a tight circle, hovering just barely above the ground, harassing him, keeping him on the defensive as the Altos dropped on him from above and rather consistently pierced him. I directed them to move in closer and speed up their attacks. I came closer myself, and took on my angelic form to feed my energy and power to my Angelos.

A shockwave of demonic energy burst from the circle of Biancos, knocking them back and destroying many of them in the process. He looked like a dragon in his devil form, and I grinned to myself. A devilish dragon fighting a team of angelic knights? I was confident in our victory, even though I saw more of my Angelos dissolve under his blades. He took flight, chasing the solitary Alto. My grin and confidence faltered. I looked around for the rest of my belovéd Angelos, but they were gone, all of them!

"No!" I cried out, "Knights are _natural_ dragon-slayers, and demons _always_ fall to angels!"

A sharp pain interrupted the rest of my thoughts, and I looked down to see both of his blades in my chest.

"Sometimes," a demonic voice growled beside me, "the dragon wins."

* * *

I looked up to the roof, knowing Vergil was facing worse than I had. I had been regaining strength, but battling those damned armors, and having to assume my devil form once again was quickly depleting what reserve I had. I took flight and headed for the library with all haste to retrieve Dante and Nero. Thankfully, I found them in the forest, already bound for the Headquarters. I landed in front of the pair, having exhausted the energy required to retain my trigger, even my ability to stand. I fell to a knee, barely caught and supported by Dante.

"I admit, I'm kind of disappointed: the last time I caught someone in a swoon, it was a pretty brunette. On the other hand, she was very pregnant and none too happy with me. More of my bad luck with women, I suppose." he quipped.

I smiled at his attempt at humor, especially since his eyes said he was afraid I was going to die in his arms. "No doubt with your charms it worked out for you anyway, nestling." I pushed myself out of his grasp but did not try to stand. "Your brother battles with dangerous opponents on the roof of the Headquarters. He will need your assistance with them, I think. Hurry, youngling."

Dante stood, triggered, and took flight without need for further explanation, but Nero immediately started throwing questions at me.

"His brother? What are you talking about? What battle? Against who? What happened to you? Where's Yamato? Wh-" I motioned for him to stop. He bit off further questions with a show of impatience.

"We should move, head there as well. Are you capable of flight in your devil form?"

He looked down sharply, ashamed or embarrassed, I couldn't tell. "I don't have one. This arm is all I have." He looked at me nearly defiantly, as though he expected some ridicule or belittlement, but I merely nodded.

"Then I shall have time to answer your questions as we travel." I stood and started through the forest as quickly as I could manage, pushing myself forward mostly through determination to do what I could for the twin sons of Sparda and the nestling hurrying beside me.

* * *

As I came within sight of the roof, I was already evaluating the situation. Three Order members, dressed and equipped too-similarly, were attacking Vergil in tight consecutive maneuvers. It was almost like watching afterimages. I landed near the barrier they had up and released my trigger.

I was very effectively blocked from assisting my brother, but even he would have admitted he needed it. He could block almost every hit, even occasionally counter, but he was definitely not performing at peak. Twenty years as a pet sea monkey will do that. He never acknowledged my presence, although the Terrible Trio did, casting an expressionless triple look in my direction before resuming their barrage. Vergil missed an easy block and took a direct, mortal blow to the chest. He fell backwards to the roof, without even attempting to catch himself, and started bleeding out. I turned my attention away from his body and waited for the Fucker, the Shit, and the Holy Bitch to drop the barrier. As it shattered, they started towards me in that weird, off-set synchronicity. I pulled Demeter, my new whip Devil Arm, from around myself and cracked it.

I felt the pulse of devilish energy I'd been waiting for and glanced at Vergil's prone form. He rose forward, coming impossibly to his feet like a coffin being flipped onto its end. I've done it myself, but it is decidedly creepy to watch. His demonic energy floated around his still-human form, but his eyes were the green glowing orbs of his Devil Trigger. As he straightened himself, I saw his wound was already gone, his demon aura had faded, and his eyes were their normal icy-blue hue. I grinned at him.

"Nice of you to rejoin the party. You could have taken a few minutes to dress before you left home, though, Verge."

He scowled at me. I considered throwing him my coat, but I didn't really want to get stabbed with those damned phantom blades of his. I turned back to the troublesome trifecta in front of us. They exchanged a look between the three of them, then nodded curtly as one. When they separated, they each took different approaches, circling wide around us. Vergil and I closed our distance to one another, going back-to-back.

"You may want to rethink your weapon of choice, little brother." Vergil commented coolly. I nodded and brought out Rebellion instead. One of the group, a female, I noted with slight surprise, jerked her head, challenging me. I grinned.

"Sure, babe, I'll play with you, but I warn you, I like it rough!" I came at her swinging Rebellion in a familiar three hit combination. She blocked each swing easily, though every impact caused her to lose ground. I heard Vergil grunt and turned my head to see the other two attacking him at once. Like before, he was blocking but only just. _Damn, divide and conquer. Fucking bitch. _I retreated back to my brother, distracting one guy enough that they both backed off. Vergil took advantage of their retreat to press his opponent, and the other two rushed at me.

I pulled out Ebony and Ivory, blasting my opponents at point-blank range, certainly keeping them off me, but not doing damage to them. I felt Vergil at my back again. The three knights resumed their previous circling.

"Damn it!" I swore, watching them carefully. "These pack tactics are going to be hard to get around."

"Do you remember when Mother was teaching us to juggle?" he asked. I nodded.

We each rushed the nearest knight: I had the female again, Vergil one of the males. When the other guy started pressing one of us, he received the business end of Vergil's phantom blades and a face full of .45s. Once they realized their plan of attack wasn't working, they disengaged and regrouped.

Vergil and I came together again, waiting for their next move. I scowled.

"This is a waste, Vergil. We've both taken out guys better than they are."

"Their team tactics are new to us, Dante. Formidable devils are most often alone."

"Maybe you guys need a hand?" a new voice quipped. We both whirled to see the kid using his demonic hand to pull himself onto the roof, along with Mara, who looked even more exhausted than before. I'd never seen a devil so drained of vitality. I noticed that Nero was pointedly not looking at Vergil, his face a pretty pink. I looked back to the Trinity while Vergil was checking on Mara. They were waiting, almost passively. I frowned, wondering what was up with them. They each looked at each other again, then nodded together. They began their attack, directed at me. I pulled out Demeter and cracked it a few times, before using it to trip up one of the males. I saw Nero's hand shoot from behind me, grabbing the female, picking her up and tossing her backwards. I disentangled the whip from the guy's feet, trying to get it back around to the other, but a dimensional cut blindsided him, and I saw first evidence of real damage to any of them. My knight rose, tricked towards me, and assaulted me. I materialized the first close-range weapon that came up: Cerberus. I grinned: this promised to be fun.

* * *

I approached Nero Angelo and Mara as soon as he had the older devil seated. My nestling seemed embarrassed, I noted with amusement. My old friend was very weak, more so than he had been. I saw no wounds, only evidence that he had been recently wounded, but before I could ask him what had happened, Mara's gaze shifted from me to something over my shoulder. I looked as well, to see the knights charging Dante. He tripped one, and my nestling threw another, but the third still had a clear shot at my twin. I rose, tricked to the side, and sent a strike at him with Yamato. My dimensional cut not only staggered the knight, but produced blood. I closed the distance between us before he could react and followed through with my favorite combination attack. The first two hits, with Yamato sheathed, solidly connected; unfortunately, he blocked the last strike, which is also the most damaging. Back on guard, he lifted his sword in a versatile stance effective for both defense and offense. I nodded at him and focused my attention on the coming battle.

* * *

Mara had done well getting back to Headquarters, but I figured that he wasn't going to make it up the wall to the roof.

"Stay here, I-"

"No!" he barked sharply. "If you do not wish to wait for me, I shall make it up on my own, but I won't stay in the shadows any longer. Sparda was family to me; I abandoned his sons once, and I have regretted it since. I have endangered my vitality rescuing Vergil. Perhaps I shall have to stay on the sidelines, but I will be there, understand, youngling?"

I nodded. "Whatever, gramps. I'm going to climb using this," I raised my right hand. "so if you're coming, you'd better hang on." He nodded and I looped my left arm around him. I reached for a handhold as high as I could manage and hoisted myself up. The climb didn't take nearly as long as it could have, I suppose, but it still seemed like I was wasting precious time.

When I finally grabbed the edge of the roof, I heard my father comment on the teamwork of their opponents.

"Maybe you guys need a hand?" I helped Mara into a comfortable sitting position. My father came over and knelt by him. I opened my mouth to say something, but words left me when I noticed he was naked. I looked away; those pictures in the sketchbook were bad enough. _I'll be scarred for life if I don't quit encountering my parents in the nude!_ I shuddered. A sharp trio of cracks turned my attention back to Dante. He was being rushed by the knights. A little flag went up in my mind, but I shook it away when I saw the old man trip one of them with that whip he got from one of the gates. I reached for the nearest one to him and grabbed. It wasn't until I had a hold of her that I knew she was a woman, but it really didn't matter. I threw her forcefully away from Dante and ran forward to be ready when she got up again. My eyes widened.

"Shit!" All three men looked at me. "I know who these guys are! They're almost legendary in the Order. The Trinity." I pointed to the one battling Dante. "Prime." I gestured to my father's opponent. "Terce." I pointed to the woman in front of me. "And None."

"That's great, kid, I'm super-impressed now." Dante snarked. I tensed up, knowing this was going to be a hell of a fight.

* * *

The revelation of their opponents' identities did not mean any more to me than it did Sparda's spawn, but I read a lot in the apprehension displayed in the nestling's body language. 'Almost legendary', he'd said. I shook my head, watching these three 'legendary' knights take on the line of a true legendary knight.

Dante was all but brow-beating his opponent, Prime, with what had to be Cerberus, ice-infused strikes upon the knight's head and shoulders until he retreated, regaining his defense. Dante grinned, striking the ground with the weapon, sending a barrage of icy spikes underneath the unfortunate knight, staggering him, allowing Dante to rush at him to club him repeatedly.

Vergil was engaged in a straight swordfight with Terce, matching blow for blow, strike for strike, until he sent some of phantom blades piercing until his opponent, exploding them once they were lodged. The knight fell to a knee and barely dodged a swing that surely would have decapitated him. He rose to his feet, bringing his sword up just in time to block another blow, but he was starting to flag, not meeting Vergil's every strike and taking damage more and more.

Nero was wielding a weapon I'd never seen, a great, black two-hander that flared with demonic flames. His large, broad strokes were easily blocked by his opponent, None, but she clearly lost ground with the force of every stroke. She knocked his sword aside to give herself an opportunity, but he grabbed her bodily again, slamming her forcefully to the ground. She rolled away, and he slung the flames from his blade at her, catching her solidly with them. He rushed in behind them, swinging away at her once more.

I turned back to Dante's battle, to see him still beating the knight, who was blocking even less blows than before. I frowned, Dante didn't seem to be trying to damage him; he seemed to be pushing him. _Very curious._ I glanced to Vergil, who was also pushing his opponent towards the center of the area. _They must have a plan, but what, and why?_ I looked to Nero. He was not necessarily trying to do the same; he just seemed to be attacking her. He grabbed her for a third time, slamming her forcefully in the center of the arena. Dante abruptly punched his opponent, launching him to her proximity. Vergil tricked behind his opponent, grabbed the collar of his white coat, jerking it from him before he kicked the knight, landing him against the others. He surrounded the Trinity with innumerable phantom blades spinning in tight spirals. Nero focused his demonic energy in the dark blade he held, covering its length with the bright blue and purple flames. Dante struck the ground hard with Cerberus, encasing the knights in a solid block of ice. Nero released the flames as Vergil pierced the block, and the knights inside, with the spectral blades. I ducked as the ice exploded, and when I looked again, the Trinity was no more.

"Not a bad bit of teamwork." Dante grinned. He eyed his brother buttoning up the stolen coat, then shrugged. "At least we don't have to see your dick swinging around, bro."

"I see that your personality is still as crude as your sword work." Vergil countered.

"Yeah, and you've still got that stick up your ass. Tell me, is it the size of stick, or how far up it's inserted that is most important?"

"Shut the hell up, old man!" Nero interrupted. "First you were ogling those drawings of my mom, then you were constantly badgering me, and now you're riding my father! What is wrong with you?!"

"Nestling," Vergil chided, "if I understand the situation correctly, this is your first experience with Dante, correct?" He nodded, and Vergil continued. "Then you must understand that he is a gun-slinging barbarian, who does not understand how to express himself in appropriate terms with respect to those around him, especially his elders and betters."

If Nero were expecting something endearing or tender, no doubt he was disappointed, but Dante just laughed. As Vergil strode towards me, I noticed a faint quirking of his lips that I recognized as a barely restrained smile. I moved to stand, smiling myself, and the world faded to black.


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N: **__Chapter 7, up for all to enjoy. Hopefully. Not much cursing in this chapter, nor much violence. It is a little shorter than some of the recent chapters, though somewhat on par for the rest. As always, let me know what you think - I love the reviews, even if its just a 'Gosh I love this!' (Hopefully.) Thanks to all of you who review, favorite, follow, or just read this! Jimli ;P_

_A special thanks to Be Rose, for your invaluable insights and thoughts. 3_

**_Disclaimer: _**_I tried to get a loan, so I could acquire the rights to Devil May Cry, but the bank said my credit was only good enough to buy one of three things: Jester's used underwear, Dante's empty pizza boxes, or the entirety of the second game, so I said I'd pass. XD_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 07: To Tread the Path of the Knight**

My father dove at Mara as he fell, catching him like Dante had in the forest. Unlike then, Mara seemed unconscious at best.

"Dishonorable bastard," he said, "you said you'd explain yourself!"

I blinked at him. "What…you're mad at him?" I asked incredulously. "He's helped me and Dante, risked his life to rescue you from the array, risked it again to get Dante here in time to fight the Trinity, and when he's collapsed, maybe dying, you're _angry_ at him?" I shook my head. "Dante has called you a lot of things, and I thought he was just being an ass as usual, but-" I felt a hand on my shoulder and jerked around to see Dante.

"Let it go, kid," he said quietly. I opened up to give him a piece of my mind, but Mara interrupted.

"Quite…right to be angry." He wheezed laughter, "I did promise him I'd explain. I came here because I felt a great source of power. I found those two nestlings, and I followed them. I didn't know what they were doing, so I didn't reveal myself." He smiled at my father.

"I thought at first it was you, or perhaps your ghost." He paused, clearly marshaling his strength. I thought to stop him, to keep him from talking more, but Dante squeezed my shoulder again. Mara looked at us.

"I watched the battle with Pazuzu. Quite the spectacle. I raced ahead of you to the next gate and defeated the devil there."

I frowned. "The next gate was Echidna," I reminded him.

"No," he corrected, "it was at the mining town. Phantom." Both Dante and Vergil snorted derisively.

"That couldn't have taken long," Dante said dryly.

"Indeed not." Mara smiled and looked back at my father. "I meant to head straight here," he indicated the roof area, "to continue my own search for answers, but I was caught in the forest by a group of lessers. Their numbers were admittedly overwhelming, but I was doing well against them. When these two caught up to me, I was grateful for the assistance none-the-less. We joined up, making it to the gate in Mitis Forest, where Echidna had set up housekeeping. As I told you before, your twin and spawn did well against her, and we cleaned out her Seeds as well. Dante became suspicious of the Order's methods and led us back through the forest to find the Order's entrance to your father's library. When Nero told me of the sweven he'd shared with you, I…I had to go back to release you. Without telling them where I was headed or why, I requested your sword, and your spawn graciously handed Yamato over to me." He paused again, his breathing shallow. "Ah yes. He handed me this also." He handed the amulet with Mom's pendant to Dad. My father looked at it curiously and turned to me.

"I don't know, I-" I started, but Mara gave a soft cry of pain, interrupting my thoughts. Vergil's attention immediately snapped back to Mara, and he shook his head at the devil.

"If you leave me now, I'll never forgive you, Mara," he said softly. I knew he was upset, but I couldn't tell if he was angry or sad. Mara smiled at him.

"I said the same to your father, the traitor," he teased. His expression grew serious and his words came out in spurts very unlike his usual eloquence. "Always thought of you as my own, nestling. Had to rescue you this time, couldn't abandon you again. Forgive me for leaving you back then?"

My father nodded stiffly, and Mara closed his eyes, nodding.

"All worth it, nestling. Family is always worth it all." One more cry of pain escaped him, then he faded, dissolving away like all the other devils had, and my father was left holding nothing. Dante squeezed my shoulder again, painfully this time, then went over to his brother. I noticed Mara's swords lying in front of my father, but they looked different somehow.

I looked at my uncle and father again. Dante had knelt and was actually holding Vergil as he cried. I hadn't seen that much sensitivity and sympathy from the old man at any point, so seeing him comforting my father was a little jarring to me.

"Before Temen-ni-gru, Mara assisted me, guided me at every turn and in the end, I shunned him, rejecting him and his advice," my father stated, his voice choppy. "At Temen-ni-gru, you offered me your hand, and I refused it, choosing instead to fall into the demon world. At Mallet Island, you defeated me. My life was forfeit and you could have killed me; I would have killed you had our positions been reversed. You did not and I resented you for requiring my service instead. At Devil May Cry, my very presence, as well as my practices, alienated your friends, allies, and even some of your business, but you never forced me away or even spoke to me about it. Because of my long imprisonment, my own nestling barely knows me, yet he has risked everything he had for me. Mara expended his strength and his very vitality merely to release me. Why? Why have all of you done this for me?" He was looking at Dante expectantly, almost pleadingly, in his search for answers.

"Because you're family, and at the end of the day, that's what's left," Dante told him softly. Vergil nodded and buried his head against his brother's shoulder. Dante rested his own head against his.

Family. That's exactly what I had been accusing Credo of: forsaking his family. And where was my family? I had left Kyrie at home, blissfully unaware of anything, I had left Credo lying in the library, possibly bleeding out, and I had left my mother floating in a goddamned tube in the lab. I clinched my hands, angry at myself.

Dante and I had looked over that ritual in the book, trying to figure out how to open the tanks. Of all the keys and objects Dante had left from his raid of the lab and office, none of them was the one required. No doubt Agnus had it. We did learn one thing, though: we weren't pressed for time since the Order had no one of Sparda's bloodline. One of us, Dante, Vergil, or myself, was required for the last rite. Since the Order had used Vergil's blood in other parts of the ritual, he was actually a better choice than Dante, or even me, but they had needed a willing participant to perform the rite, which was why they had been grooming me all these years. If I had bought into the doctrine a little better, their plans could have been accelerated. Maybe if my mother hadn't disappeared at Academy eight years ago, I would have been a true believer by now.

Mom. She was trapped, imprisoned. I had the power to free her. I glanced again at the half-devil twins.

Family.

Vergil's amulet dangled from his hand, Mom's pendant beating inside. _Mom._ I had missed her so much growing up; I still missed her. She was my _mother_, my _family_. She, Credo, Kyrie, and Blue had been my family, the only family I'd known. It had been painful leaving her there in the array room. I turned away from Dante and Vergil and started walking to the edge of the roof.

"Kid?" Dante called.

"There's something I have to do."

I expected him to argue, or least flip a sarcastic remark at me, but he didn't. Instead, I heard his brother's voice. _Vergil. Blue. My father. My mother's mate._

"Do nothing foolish, Nero Angelo," he said. "I don't want to lose you too, nestling."

I nodded, not even knowing if he was looking at me, then dropped off the edge of the building.

I was reluctant to confront Kyrie just yet. I couldn't get back into the library without Dante. But I knew where my mother was, and I knew how to save her. I headed back towards Fortuna Town, to Academy.

* * *

"You know what he's going to do, don't you Verge?"

"I believe I do," I admitted. "If I am correct, we have little time."

"Shouldn't we stop him?"

"No. It would be…dishonorable. We must let him do what he thinks is right."

Dante nodded, but he was still looking towards the edge where my nestling had jumped. I smiled tightly.

"You have grown attached to Nero Angelo."

"He's a hell of a kid." Dante shook his head. "Well, looks like we've got to go to work."

I looked down, noticing the blades for the first time. I frowned. They were assuredly Lethe and Eunoe, but they had altered. Once bright, silvery wave blades with black hilts, they were now black with purple fullers and hilts. They were longer, with a lighter, thinner design, although they retained the same wave shape. I picked up one of the swords and heard a metallic chink. A long intricate chain of blackened metal links fell from where the pommel should have been, connecting the two blades by the ends of their hilts. I looked at my brother questioningly, but he merely shrugged.

"I'd say his power went into his blades when he died and transformed them. I suppose it should be called Mara. Library or office?"

"It doesn't matter at the moment. We need to go through the Headquarters and find Agnus' research if we can. The Order has profited from our library for far too long. Then I believe we shall need to go back to the array." I jerked the blade in my hand and caught its mate as it jumped, before absorbing the Arm.

"Age before beauty," he smirked, gesturing grandly to the edge of the roof.

"I have both, fool," I replied over my shoulder as I walked to the edge. We dropped to the circus below and entered the Headquarters of the Order of the Sword. The doors snapped shut behind us of their own accord.

"Why do evil lairs always have self-shutting doors?" Dante pondered. "How do they even get them to shut themselves, especially perfectly timed behind the hero's entrance?" I stared at my twin.

"Those are the things you think about in situations like this?" He shrugged.

"A guy's got to have a hobby, Verge."

"Ridiculous," I muttered, shaking my head.

We proceeded through the entranceway cautiously. A group of Mephistos materialized, accompanied by a Faust. Seeing the slightly stronger devil reminded me of a previous battle Dante and I had had with these bug-like lesser demons. I quirked a smile.

"Do you remember the last time we fought a group of these?" I asked. He nodded, then jumped into the air slashing the Faust with his usual barbarism.

"Yep. I was even thinking about taking this guy's hat. Those things look so much better on me anyway!"

"Indeed," I agreed solemnly, the memory of Dante stealing the dying demon's hat and flopping onto his own head rising in my mind. Laughter escaped me as I jumped into the air, attacking the Mephisto in front of me with my favorite three hit combination. It fell to the floor, its true body exposed, and I threw myself downward, foot first, crushing its form with my heel before stabbing it once more with Yamato. It dissolved into nothing, and I jumped up after the nearest replacement. I heard the rapid fire of my twin's guns and caught sight of the Faust dropping, Dante pursuing it with yet more gunfire as it crashed onto the floor. I sliced my opponent's hazy cloak completely away and encircled it with my summoned swords, stabbing it from every direction. It died as it fell, and I tricked mid-air to yet another Mephisto. Dante jumped into my view, and I surmised that the Faust was no more as he had indeed stolen its hat. I shook my head and focused on the next demon, and the next.

I landed gracefully back on the floor after the last demon evaporated, Dante landing moments after.

"Well, that was fun. Too bad they never last very long." Dante gave a long-suffering sigh, pulled the Faust's hat from his head, threw it into the air, and riddled it with gunfire until it, too, was gone. He grinned at me, and I couldn't help but return it.

"Tell the truth now, Verge: you missed me, didn't you?"

"Never in life, Dante," I replied, walking down the hallway.

"Hey! How could you not miss me?" he pouted. I ignored him, and we began our search of the Headquarters.

We investigated every room we came to and found very little in most of them. None of the files or papers contained anything that could be remotely construed as originating in our library, there were no more demons floating around, and not an Order member to be seen. I glanced at Dante.

"Something is very wrong, here."

"Yeah. I'm beginning to think that everything must be back at the lab at Academy."

I frowned. "But that doesn't truly make sense, either, Dante."

"Yeah, I know."

We continued our search of the building, finding nothing.

"Dante. We have only encountered defensive measures once since entering this place."

"What? You mean the front lobby?" I nodded, flicking my gaze around the carving-covered walls of the last room. "So you think that there is a secret entrance or hidden room or demonic broom closet back there." I nodded again. He shrugged, glancing around as I had.

"Sure, Vergil." He rummaged in a coat pocket, throwing something to me. "You want this?" I caught the object: a statuette of a snarling lion. I looked at it briefly before jamming it into the wall. It clicked neatly into place, revealing a passageway with a scared-looking male wearing the Order's insignia.

"Savior preserve me," he whispered, looking at Dante and me. I raised an eyebrow.

"From his own sons' quest to retrieve his stolen knowledge? I see that happening, don't you, Dante?" The boy gulped and turned to flee, but I caught him by the throat and pinned him to the wall.

"Tell us where we may find Agnus' research." I kept my voice low and quiet, but there was no mistaking the threat.

"His office is through this way! I don't know about his research, I mean, I knew about the array, and the ascension room, we all do! But I don't know more than that! Please let me go!"

I let go of him, disgusted. "Your blubbering and puling are unbecoming to you and your Order." My brother and I turned to walk up the passageway, and I heard the boy speak again.

"You, you're not going to kill me?" he asked incredulously.

"Not really our style, no matter what the Order's told you, kid." Dante answered calmly, looking over his shoulder.

"The Order will come after you! They'll stop you! You won't prevent the resurrection of our belovéd Savior!" he screamed at us as he ran.

Dante shrugged at me. "Kids these days, no gratitude."


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N: **__Long-awaited chapter eight is finally here. I believe that there are less than five chapters left, after this one, but at least two more... We'll see how it all pans out, I guess._

_As ever, let me know what you think! Jimli ;P_

_Some cursing, naturally, some violence, some intense moments._

**Disclaimer: **_Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a writer. She wrote wonderous tales of devils in leather and silk, but alas! Her tales were not to be, for she ultimately had no claim on them. A truly tragic tale of woe!_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 08: Key to the Aquarium**

I sped through the forest as quickly as I could, wondering why it seemed like I was constantly backtracking to previous locations. I used my newly discovered climbing ability to bring myself back up the cliff side and made my way back to the castle.

I ran into small groups of those annoyances Dante had called lessers: Scarecrows, Blades, Mephistos, but nothing big, and nothing I couldn't easily eliminate, having already fought these guys time after time.

"Mom always said history repeats itself, but this is ridiculous!" I yelled, defeating yet another batch of Basilisks as I crossed the mountain again. I ran from the base of Lamina Peak into the outskirts of Fortuna and rushed to Academy.

As I got closer to the building, I started wondering where everyone was, not just the Order members, but the townspeople, too. I shook it off and sped in the door, not pausing until I reached the lab.

The destruction that Dante and I had caused was still evident, making my search of the lab difficult, but I finally found what I wanted.

"Funny that this is the key the old man and I were looking for the whole time," I mused, hefting the newly repaired Red Queen.

When the Scarecrow in the forest had broken her two days ago, I had brought it to Agnus for repairs. Even though I had modified her, Agnus had been the original designer of all the Order's swords, and he had a far better workshop than I did at home. I had figured at the time that he could repair her quicker than I could, especially since everyone believed my arm was injured.

When Dante had shown me the array plans in his dad's book, I had noticed the designs for the swords the Order used scrawled alongside them. I didn't make the connection until we found out that my blood and a willing descendent were required, and I remembered how Dante had opened the wall with Yamato. I clutched the handle of my sword tightly, then went through the wide-open passage to the array at the back. As I expected, Agnus and His Holiness were both there.

"Ah! Young Nero, back at last! Are you ready to fulfill your true purpose?" Sanctus asked me.

"On one condition," I said. "I want my mother released before I activate the ritual. I've seen the plans, and I know that you don't really need her for the resurrection. Give me my mother, and I'll give you your Savior."

Sanctus nodded eagerly. "Of course! It was truly regrettable that she had become mixed up in this in the first place." He turned to Agnus. "Agnus, do release the young Knight's mother."

"Of c-c-c-course, Your H-H-Holiness," he answered, heading towards the tank with Mom inside and driving a crystal into the tube's top. The purple fluid drained out quickly, and the tank's front popped open. Agnus caught my mother before she could fall and carried her to me. I took her from him as she opened her eyes.

"Vergil?" she mumbled. She blinked a few times, slowly becoming aware, then she frowned at me.

"Do I know you?" she asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, Mom. It's me, Nero."

"Nero?" Her eyes widened in shock. "_My_ Nero? But…" Something suddenly occurred to her and she snapped her head around.

"Vergil! Where is he?" She spotted Agnus. "You! What did you do to me? Where's Vergil?" She started scrambling around in my arms, trying to get down. I put her on her feet but wrapped my demonic arm around her waist, pulling her close.

"Mom! _Mom! _Dad's fine! He's free, just like you are now."

"What?" She glanced at the hand resting on my right arm and pulled it away. "Your arm…?" she questioned, turning to look at me, curiosity and concern in her eyes. I started to explain, but Sanctus cut me off.

"We kept our side of the bargain," he said sharply. "Now do your duty, young Knight. Resurrect our belovéd Savior!"

I nodded at him and released my mother. She looked at me, but I shook my head at her.

"Later, Mom. I promised this in exchange for you."

Her face fell. "Oh, little angel, whatever it is you promised, I'm not-"

"You're wrong!" I snapped at her, wincing at my own anger. "You're wrong, Mom," I said more softly. "You're family. I'd do anything for you." She gave me a watery smile.

"You sound like your father," she said, pride in her voice.

I gave her a hug, then walked over to a large circle inset in the floor near where the remains of Vergil's tank were.

I ran the edge of Red Queen across my right palm and let the blood drip into a small indentation near the top of the circle before stabbing the point into a slot in the center of the circle. The glyphs around the slot flared with a bruised-looking purple light, and the pocket of blood started glowing red. Agnus thrust a paper at me and I read the words, causing the purple light to brighten. Lines of purple and red shot across the floor to a table against the wall. A crudely humanoid figure rose from the table in an eerie, boneless way. I pulled Red Queen from the floor and cut my hand again as I walked to the mannequin. Even up close, I couldn't tell what it was made of; it could have been wood, clay, or something far worse for all I knew. I smeared the blood over the thing's chest where a person's heart would be and held my hand there long enough to recite the last part of the rite. I felt a thumping start within the homunculus, disturbingly in time with my own heartbeat. I pulled back my hand and backed away as the thing started jerking. Thick, pulsing, organic vines or tentacles, I couldn't tell which, rose from all the tanks and rushed at the figure. I jumped back and watched as they wrapped themselves around it, writhing and merging into each other and its form.

My part in this was finally done, and I went back over to my mom. She was watching the whole rite with obvious horror and disgust. She cuddled against me, shaking her head, though at what, I didn't know.

The tanks, now empty of their contents and fluid, shattered as a pulse of power burst from the homunculus in the back. Mom flinched against me, and I raised my demon hand, using it as a shield against the shards. We heard the thing start screaming, muffled and very demonic sounding at first, but becoming clearer and more human as the noise continued. Its screams stopped abruptly, and it dropped to the floor. Agnus and Sanctus moved towards the figure; the Knight had some clothes in hand, and His Holiness carried a sword shaped something like Dante's, only smaller and shorter.

When they reached the figure, clawed hands shot out, grabbing each of them by a leg. Both men tripped, and the black form tore into them. Mom gasped, and I buried her head against my chest to muffle the noise. Neither of us watched, but the screaming, crunching, and slurping left very little to the imagination. I looked up again only when the noises had stopped.

The thing was too-obviously male and looked like a human-sized, black-skinned demon with two pairs of wings, hooves instead of feet, curving horns and spines sticking out of his back. He changed when he saw me looking at him, and reached for the items that Agnus and Sanctus had dropped. _What the hell is with me seeing all these naked people?!_

Mom looked up and turned towards the demon curiously, but I pushed her behind me.

"My angel, what-" she started.

"I think you should go, Mom. Go home, find Kyrie," I told her quietly. "Grab some things, go to the port, and catch the first ferry to the mainland."

The demon, now dressed in purple and armed, strolled casually over towards us. I studied his human form. He looked a lot like Dante and Vergil, except he had this ageless youth to his face. He could have been my age, Dante's age, or older than Mara. He smiled as he approached, stopping in front of me.

"And who might you be, boy?" he asked politely. There was something in his bearing and the way he spoke that made his casual words seem courtly. I thought about my father and uncle and wondered how they would respond to this demon. I straightened, keeping Mom safely behind me, and answered him as formally as I could.

"My name is Nero Angelo Redgrave, son of Vergil, son of Sparda."

"Ah," he said with a smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, grandson."

* * *

My body slowly healed from the wounds Nero had left me. I had been thinking over what both he and Dante had said as they left. I knew that the Savior was needed, and I had hoped that Nero would come to understand that. I frowned. By removing Jade, Agnus had wrought the exact opposite result of what he'd intended. Jade's disappearance had pushed Nero further from the Order's doctrine. If Jade had told Nero of his legacy, perhaps, but then, I never had the impression that she knew. I frowned. Why would Vergil not have told her? It mattered little now, of course.

I rose unsteadily to my feet and grabbed my sword. The lieutenant was still lying against the wall, unconscious but alive. I made my way down the tunnel we'd come in, knowing that Dante and Nero would be en route to the Headquarters.

I deviated at a certain chamber, and chose an entrance only Sanctus, Agnus, and I knew of, one that led between Agnus' rooms at the Headquarters and the library. I was hoping to reach Headquarters before Nero and Dante did, counting on Homily and the Trinity to slow them down. I held no illusions that either the Angelo Corps, or even the Trinity could defeat Dante, especially with Nero at his side, but perhaps they could buy some time.

I briefly considered finding Kyrie; I knew that she could convince Nero to do anything, and there was a chance she could finally reach him where everyone else had failed. I vetoed the thought, however; I simply did not believe there was time, nor did I know the extent to which Dante had already influenced the boy.

I reached Agnus' office as the door burst open. Dante strolled casually into the room, followed closely by another.

"Well, well," Dante drawled. "You're just like the big bad wolf, beating Little Red Riding Hood to Grandma's house."

I looked past him, preparing to beseech Nero, when I saw that it was _not _Nero behind Dante, but _Vergil_.

"How did you free him? Where is Nero?"

Dante looked around, as though unaware that he had not been alone, then turned back to me, jerking his thumb at his brother.

"What, him?" he asked languidly. "I-"

"Who the hell are you?" Vergil interrupted.

Dante turned to him. "Hey," he pouted, "that's my line, or at least the kid's." I blinked at the absurdity.

"Can you take nothing seriously, Dante?" Vergil snapped.

"As little as possible. Seriously is your bit, or at least it was until you started taking Nero's part, maybe-"

"Where _is _Nero?" I repeated. The sons of Sparda exchanged a thoughtful, somewhat sad look, and I feared he had fallen in battle. "No," I said softly. "I…I did not want this."

"Funny," Dante snapped. "I thought this was _exactly_ what you wanted, you and your precious Order."

"I did not wish for his death!"

Dante looked genuinely confused. "Death? The kid's not dead; he went to do your damned dirty work!"

"What?"

"I believe," Vergil said coldly, "that he was going to exchange his cooperation for his mother. My mate. No doubt that was your intent for her all along, as I know that a full-blooded human is nearly worthless for the rite my brother described to me."

"No. Jade was merely collateral damage in the quest for the greater good."

Dante made a derisive noise, and Vergil drew his sword, growling at me.

"Perhaps you can enlighten me how _my mate_ is _merely collateral damage_."

_"Agnus," I began, "have you spoken with Jade, Nero's mother, today? She had said something about speaking with you about your overzealous examinations of the boy yesterday, but Nero tells me she was not there when he arrived home from Academy this afternoon."_

_"Ah, yes, that m-m-m-meddlesome m-m-mother of his will cause the Order no more tr-rouble over the b-b-boy. Soon, he will be initiat-ted into the Order, and S-S-Sanctus will enlighten him to his t-t-true purpose! If all goes well, we m-m-may be able to m-m-move our schedule up!"_

_"What do you mean?" I asked. I intensely dislike Agnus, useful though he is. He is unpredictable, for all his purported belief in the orderliness of science, and too full of his own self-worth. Often I have wondered if his work is truly for the Order and the benefit of all humanity, or for his own glory and sense of importance and power._

_"I encap-p-psulated her in the array," he answered nonchalantly, not even looking up from the notes he was working on._

_"What?!" I asked, angry. He looked up, a sly, evil smile on his face._

_"D-D-Do you care for her, C-Credo?"_

_"Of course I care for her! She has been as family to my sister and me for ten years!"_

_"Is she m-m-more important to you than our b-b-belovéd Savior's resurrection? One w-w-woman, in the face of all the world? One human woman, who g-g-gave herself to a ruthless d-d-devil?"_

_I frowned. "I have heard her speak of her _husband_ to Nero. She does not think of him or their relationship in that manner. She calls herself 'Redgrave', an alias known to have been used by the sons of Sparda. She also calls herself a widow. As for her importance, if we must sacrifice our loved ones at every turn, then what kind of world are we planning?"_

_Agnus cocked his head, frowning. "And what of your s-s-sister, K-Kyrie? If we d-d-do not c-c-carry out our pl-plans, what k-k-kind of world are we allowing for s-s-such a sweet young g-g-girl to live in? J-Jade Redgrave is surely not m-m-m-m-more important than your own flesh and blood s-s-sister? B-B-Besides, the boy talks of his m-m-m-mother's sense of n-n-nob-b-ility and purpose. What more n-n-noble a purpose than to s-s-step aside so the b-b-boy can fulfill his own p-p-p-purpose? What m-m-more noble a fate than to h-help bring ab-b-bout the perfect world that our S-S-Savior can provide? What b-b-b-better end than to b-become p-p-part of the very b-being of our b-b-belovéd Savior, especially for a woman who b-bore his grands-son?" He smiled. "A small s-s-sacrifice, Credo, for the greater g-g-good."_

_I hesitated, still unsure. I believed in the Order's purpose, but Jade had been there when Kyrie and I had had no one._

_"P-P-Perhaps it would set your m-mind at ease to see her. She is completely at p-p-p-peace in her st-st-stasis, next to her m-m-mate."_

_I nodded, and Agnus led me through the passage to the array. I wandered towards the back, where I knew Vergil to be and saw her, floating gently in the next tube. A small sacrifice, for the greater good._

_I frowned. "Nero is not yet ready. He will not understand that hers is a noble part of the Order's plans."_

_"Then we sh-shall have to w-w-w-wait until he is. N-N-Now, without her d-d-d-d-doubts plaguing him, he will s-s-soon be r-ready."_

_I nodded, placing my hand on the front of the tank. "I am sorry, Jade. Rest easy knowing your sacrifice serves us all, including your black angel," I whispered._

I knew the elder son of Sparda was angry; the waves of rage pouring from him made me wonder why he hadn't assumed his devil form. It was Dante's rancor that surprised me.

"You're a low fuck, Credo," he rumbled. "That Dr. Freakenstein was no surprise to me, not from the moment the kid told me about him, but _you_, the kid held you in high regard. If you had told him this, he might have killed you in the library."

"I cannot believe you would have allowed him to, Dante. If he had struck in the heat of battle, you would not have intervened, but I cannot see you allowing him to ruthlessly stab me while I was helpless and defeated on the floor."

Dante gave me a cold smile that looked more like an evil grimace. "Your kind is all the same, you know, humans who become demons. If he had moved to kill you, I wouldn't have tried to save you, not even for his sake. That's how a true demon's mind works."

I was chilled by his words. He turned to his twin, who was still glaring murderously at me.

"Verge? You going to kill him, or come with me?"

In light of what he had just said, Dante's question did not surprise me, but Vergil's actions did; he sheathed the katana.

"We had a purpose in coming here, little brother," he reminded him.

Dante snapped his fingers, a smile lighting his face. "So we did!" He summoned a Devil Arm, a set of gauntlets and greaves, and punched a nearby desk. A bolt of lightning came crashing through the ceiling, igniting the desk and all the papers on it. The rest of the papers and files strewn about quickly caught as well, leaving the place an inferno. They calmly left through the tunnel towards the library, but I rushed out into the Headquarters, searching for any remaining Knights I could rally. I had no doubt that they were going to the array, and I wanted to ensure they did not have opportunity to prevent the Savior's resurrection.


	23. Chapter 23

_**A/N: **__I will not bore you with excuses, reasons, or explanations. Here, finally, is the next chapter. I sincerely hope it was wprth the wait to you guys. After this chapter, there are two more. A slim chance on three. Very slim._

_One additional note: only the flashback is a shift in POV._

_Let's see: language, violence, I think that's it._

_Jimli ;P_

**Disclaimer: **_If this were a Marxist state, I would need not give a disclaimer because we would all equally own Devil May Cry, the Sparda bloodline, the Order of the Sword, and everything else within this story. Since we all know that we don't, it should follow that this is not a Marxist state. :(_

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 09: Best Laid Plans**

"Grandson?" I questioned, but the teenager standing in front of me nodded. _Nero? This young man is my little angel?_ I kept coming back to that idea; it just didn't seem possible. Tears stung at my eyes at the thought of having so much ripped away from me. Anger flared through me, and I looked over the shoulder of the devil dressed in purple to the gruesome mess that had once been Agnus and Sanctus. I flipped my gaze at the devil, glaring at him.

"That wasn't very nice to do, you know."

He turned to me, a mild sort of surprise on his handsome features. "Madam?"

I pointed towards the gory scene in the back. "Killing him. Agnus. Sanctus, too. They took Vergil, who knows how or when, then they stole my life with my son by locking me away."

He looked puzzled. "Surely you're not mourning their deaths, then? I do regret the manner-"

"Don't. I just think Vergil, if he really is free, would have wanted to do it instead."

He chuckled. "I see. Perhaps it's not so surprising Vergil took you as a mate after all. As a child, he was always far more in tune with his devilish nature than Dante." He frowned. "But I'm hardly in a position to know much more about them. I, too, missed out on my spawn's lives, you know."

I shook my head. "My yakuza didn't talk about you or his childhood much."

"Did he call you 'Marshmallow'?" Nero asked abruptly.

I nodded. "Yes. Did he tell you that?"

"No," he replied darkly. He turned back to the devil in front of us. "So you're Sparda, the belovéd Savior of the Order of the Sword. I'd tell you that you're not what I expected, but the old man already showed me that your kind never is."

"Old man?" Sparda inquired politely. Nero nodded, subtly giving me a push towards the door as he circled the purple clad devil, captivating his attention away from me.

"Yeah, Dante. He came here, slinging his age and experience around, calling me a kid like a was just another punk."

"You _are_ just another punk, kid."

We all turned to see Dante stroll in; I frowned. This was getting more than a little awkward for me. Dante I'd only ever spoken to briefly, and not under the best of circumstances. My little black angel was no longer little; I didn't know how long it had been, but this young man in front of me was a stranger. A stranger with hard eyes, a cocky attitude, and a demon arm. Sparda I had never known. All I knew of him were the tidbits I'd picked up in church when attending Kyrie's performances, and I hadn't really been diligent about paying attention to the praises of the Savior.

"Marshmallow," a soft, cool voice intoned. I jerked, looking past Dante.

"Vergil!" I ran, throwing myself into his arms. I hadn't seen him in longer than the other males, but I still felt as though I knew him best of all. I opened my eyes, catching sight of Nero. He seemed hurt, and my heart ached.

I looked up into Vergil's face, frowning at him.

"You broke your promise. I don't know how late you are, exactly, but it's been more than…" I trailed off. He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest. I shivered.

"Perhaps I am mistaken, Marshmallow, but I believe I told you I would be no longer than necessary. Apparently, _much_ has been necessary."

"Fucking weasel," I growled.

"And you always complained about my language, Mom!" Nero exclaimed. "I didn't even know you knew the word 'fuck'!"

"Oh, she knows it," Vergil said ambiguously. "You should have heard her language when we were celebrating my birthday, both before and after her boss ordered her to come to work while we-"

"Nevermind!" Nero cut in.

I looked at him thoughtfully. He was blushing in that delicately pink way Vergil did, the way Nero had as a boy.

"What the hell? I thought you were bad enough, Dante; _he's_ even worse!" Nero jerked his demonic thumb at his father.

Dante laughed. "I thought you would have known that leafing through that sketchbook of his. I wouldn't take bets on which of us has been laid more, and that's not including J-"

"Nevermind, indeed, little brother," Vergil said sharply. He gave me one of those soft, sweet kisses I had so dearly missed and lay his cheek on mine.

"I've spent years dreaming about the three days I promised to take off from work, Marshmallow," he whispered, his lips brushing my ear. I shivered again, and he gently but firmly pushed me away.

"I see you have indeed resurrected the Savior, Nero Angelo," Vergil said brusquely. Nero nodded, and all three of them, Dante, Vergil, and Nero turned to look at Sparda.

"The question is, what are your intentions?" Vergil asked the devil.

"Are you sure it's really Pop, Verge? Might be something pretending to be him."

Vergil nodded. "I am relatively sure, but one can never be too cautious."

Nero frowned. "How would you prove that?"

Dante grinned. "There are ways, some are a little more interesting than others, but the best way is also the easiest." He pulled his sword, a great claymore I knew was called Rebellion, and strode towards the devil in question. Sparda, obviously understanding, nodded and pulled up the sleeves of his purple coat and red and purple shirt, exposing the pale flesh of his arm. Dante sliced across the devil's arm, a trail of dark red blood oozing in the sword's wake. He poked a finger in the blood, inspected it, then gave it a taste. He turned to Vergil, shrugging.

"I'm convinced."

Sparda sighed, looking at the cut on his arm. "I don't suppose either of you actually carry a handkerchief, as I tried teach you when you were young?"

They both shook their heads, and he nodded, resignedly covering his bloodied arm with his sleeves once more.

"You know what your father's blood tastes like?" Nero asked incredulously.

"There are many aspects to being a devil that you will not have experienced, nestling," Vergil answered. "Your mother would not have known, and I, regrettably, was not there."

"Vergil's right about one thing, Pop: what are your intentions? You into the Order's world domination plot? Let me tell you, that sort of thing doesn't work out well in our family. Does it, Vergil?"

Nero, Sparda, and I were confused, but Vergil scowled.

"Is that why you raised the tower? Temen-ni-gru?" Nero asked.

Sparda looked up sharply. "You raised-"

"Yes, Father," Vergil answered crisply. "I did. I see you carry Force Edge, no doubt the Order stole it from me when they found me. You know well where it had been sealed, how did you believe it had been retrieved?"

"I hadn't thought about the sword, yet, I suppose," he admitted, glancing at the sword in his hand. "In answer to your question, nestling, no, I do not intend to rule the world. I do not even intend to resume rule of Fortuna, as I once did-"

"The Savior!" an ecstatic voice called from the doorway. We all turned to look. Several Order members were crowded around the entrance to the lab.

"Captain! He's here! Nero did it!" another voice called. Several of them fell to a knee, planting the tips of their swords into the floor before them. Another Knight came forward.

"Credo?" I called, smiling. Nero and Vergil both moved towards me, one on either side, grabbing a shoulder to keep me from going up to the young captain.

"What is the matter?" I queried, looking from one to the other. Credo nodded at them briefly, then looked at me.

"Jade. I see that Agnus did allow Nero his trade. It is good to see you awake."

Nero's demon hand gripped my shoulder tightly, painfully. I reached up to his hand, and he loosened his hold.

"Sorry, Mom."

Credo's words caught up to my brain. "You…you knew what he'd done?"

He shook his head. "Not until he'd already encapsulated you. I am sorry. If I had known what he was going to do, I would never have let you go see him."

"But you didn't tell Nero, did you?" I accused. "What about Vergil? Did you know he was there?"

Credo frowned. "Of course I did, Jade."

Vergil smiled tightly. "I have finally remembered you, knight. When you spoke with us in the Order's Headquarters, I thought I knew your scent. You were one of those who found me in hell, after the mission with Trish."

Dante's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and Credo nodded.

"Yes, I was one. Agnus was the other. He was searching for a source of power he'd detected, I was a student in his class, and acting as a lab assistant. He was elated at having found you and the Savior's sword. We brought you back here, to Fortuna."

"I remember, knight," Vergil said, his voice low and dangerous.

* * *

_My cell phone rang. I knew it had to be Dante; I only use that phone for work and calls from my wife, but she was snuggled against me. The ringing had awakened her as well, a mixed blessing: she had been feeling ill, so I had been going to let her sleep, but since she was awake, I could make love to her. First, I needed to find out what my brother wanted._

_"This had better be good, Dante," I answered irritably. I pulled Jade close to me, allowing her to get comfortable again._

_"Look, Vergil, Trish has this job that she needs help with, a possession of a little girl."_

_He had delivered the last phrase casually, as though it were merely a detail, but I knew he was attempting to pull at my sympathies. Dante is very clever, much more so than the huntress or the she-devil know, and he had been trying to ensure my goodwill towards humanity since bidding me to work for him._

_Jade kissed me lightly, just above the heart, then settled to go back to sleep._

_Damn._

_"Why can you not take the job?" I asked. "You know I can't stand the woman." The truth of that was somewhat faded, however; not only had I come to realize that she was, indeed, quite devoted to Devil May Cry and Dante, she had been very accommodating about my feelings regarding her._

_If I were honest, I had hated her just as much for her appearance as for what she had been, and neither of those things had been her choice. After meeting and working with my brother, she had become something different than what she'd been created to be, making her own decisions and leading her own life._

_That fact that a she-devil created for the dual purpose of torturing me and trapping my brother had become a talented devil hunter protecting humanity shamed me greatly when I looked over the legacy I'd thrown away with the choices I'd made in my life._

_"It requires a separation ritual," Dante answered. I was confused. He sounded perfectly confident that I could do it, but if that were the case, why did he not do it? If he had the ritual, knew what it involved…. I frowned, a suspicion coming to mind. He didn't want Trish to know he could do it; he was using me to protect his gunslinging, sword-swinging badass image._

_Damn his pride and reputation!_

_"Why can you not do that ritual?" I snapped, sitting up._

_"The ritual itself is tricky, and the demon language it needs to be spoken in is difficult. I don't speak it well enough to perform," he replied placatingly. Jade shot out of bed, and I scowled. No doubt she would be sick again, and I was stuck arguing with my foolish twin._

_"Admitting you have performance issues, little brother? That has to be a first for you," I snipped at him. I nearly felt him wince on the other end of the line._

_"Come on, Verge. It's a little girl flesh-merged with a demon. I can't risk fucking this up," he pleaded. He sounded sincere in his belief._

_"Fine!" I snarled. As I stood to begin dressing, I heard Jade's footsteps coming back from the bathroom. She smelled vaguely of sick and toothpaste. I was angry that I had to leave her, angry that she was ill, and angry I would have to go on this job with the she-devil._

_"My brother _insists_ that I go on a job with that _woman_. He says he cannot do the ritual involved. I hope this isn't some ridiculous ploy to create a relationship between her and me, but the job needs to be done. I shan't be gone longer than necessary. Call my cell phone if you need me." I smiled at her, trying to reassure her that I wasn't angry at her, but her frailty concerned me deeply._

_"Have you been sick again?" I asked, sure of the answer, but I wanted to see if she were worried. She nodded tiredly at me._

_"Go to the doctor. Find out what's wrong. It concerns me how long you've been feeling poorly." I tenderly kissed her in the way she loved best, hoping to convey my concern to her. She could be quite stubborn about doctors, generally wishing to take care of injury and illness herself._

_She responded to my touch well, but if this ritual was as tricky as Dante had indicated, I had no right to delay, especially with a life in the balance._

_"I wish I had time to make love to you. Unfortunately, there are things I need to pack at the shop. Take the next three days off from work." She started shaking her stubborn head, and I picked up her phone to call her illness in myself._

_"Gina's Gems, this is Leeann, how may I help you?"_

_"Leeann-"_

_"Oh! Vergil, is that you?" she cut in. Jade's co-workers at her new job were predominately female, and they had made no bones about how they envied my wife her good fortune of being with what they believed to be a very handsome man._

_"Yes, it is I."_

_"Is Jade not any better?"_

_"No, she's not feeling well. Tell your boss she is taking the next three days off."_

_"Sure thing, Vergil! Oh, you are so sweet, calling her in, and making her stay home to get better. I'll let Gina know, okay?"_

_"Thank you."_

_"Tell Jade she better get better soon, will ya, Vergil?"_

_"Yes, I will tell her." I hung up, glad to be off the phone with Leeann. I had convinced Jade to drop the job she had had when we met to alleviate the stress it caused her. Her new job at this jewelry store was better in most regards, but I was quite uncomfortable with the hungry, fawning way her co-workers looked at me and spoke to me._

_My marshmallow was scowling at me._

_"Leeann wishes you to feel better soon. Do not go back to work until the fourth day. Go see the doctor. I will have your word on this, or I will call Dante."_

_Her eyes grew wide, seeing how serious I was being. If she would not agree, I would indeed call my brother. If he would not change his mind about sending me, I would require him to take her to the doctor. Dante was nowhere near as defiant regarding my wishes as my wife could be. Dante would happily carry her over his shoulder to the doctor's office if need be to ensure that he did not cross me. Fortunately, it would not be necessary, as she nodded._

_"You win. I'll make an appointment. I'll skip work for three days," she conceded. "But you owe me Vergil._

_You'll have to take work off. Play hookey." I smiled, happy she was being agreeable, and I was already planning those three days as I walked out._

_At the office, I met with Dante and Trish, and looked over the ritual they had found. It was indeed tricky, though I still believed Dante could have done it, and I dutifully studied it. The she-devil had helpfully gathered all the equipment and ingredients needed beforehand, so after I felt confident that I could perform, we left Devil May Cry together on her bike._

_She was very tense as she drove. I doubt that my holding onto her helped her state of mind. I sighed to myself. If I were making her this uncomfortable, so much so that Dante felt the need to beg me to assist her, I needed to rethink my feelings about her. I knew that my brother cared for her, though I doubted in a romantic sense, and as little as I usually admitted it, I believed my twin's judgment sound. I resolved to have an honest talk with her after the job, as I didn't want her distracted beforehand. She is a sound fighter, and I had a feeling this flesh-merged demon would prove tenacious._

_There was an immediate complication when we arrived. The priest who had brought the job to the she-devil was present and determined to help._

_"If there is anything I may do to provide assistance, please let me know Mr. Dante," he implored._

_"I am not Dante. My name is Vergil. If you truly wish to help, you could do no better than leaving." I brushed past the man on my way into the house._

_The mother led us all into the room where the unfortunate girl was. She was bound, as would be expected, and bound well. I looked at Trish as the blonde devil walked in. She nodded._

_"Once Father Calhoun showed me the girl, I did this."_

_I nodded, and looked back at the girl. If I had not known she was human, I would have killed her out of hand. Her eyes were a glowing yellow and had slit pupils. Frills came around the girl's head, framing her black hair in layers. Her complexion was a turquoise color that I would have found quite nice otherwise, and her neck was riddled with what appeared to be gills. She had a lipless mouth full of shark's teeth._

_Her chest was sunken, with two lumpy, droopy breasts vestigially hanging over prominent ribs. The rest of her body was covered by a quilt, over which a red glowing net of demonic energy pulsed. Trish had done well with the net; I could see it was uniform and very effective. It was strong enough to keep the creature tied down, but flexible enough to allow for necessary movement._

_Despite the cover, I could see that her lumpy body underneath was decidedly as demonic as the part I could see. I glanced at a picture on a nearby dresser. The girl in the picture was perhaps a few years younger than my wife, with short black hair the curled around her pixie face. Her eyes were a light chocolate brown, and her skin was caramel. She had the toned body that only an active lifestyle could provide, and a bright smile. I looked back to the monster in the bed, frowning._

_"Don't like what you see, son of Sparda?" it chuckled._

_"You have hardly improved on the girl's looks, if that's what you mean."_

_"And how handsome is your devil, I wonder," it snapped. I shrugged._

_"Handsome enough to get me laid every night," I answered calmly. I heard the girl's mother gasp lightly from the doorway, but I ignored both her, and further comments from the ugly demon in the bed as I began the ritual._

_I felt the power building with every phrase, and a portal developed behind the head of the bed. We watched as the demon began pulling apart, and the human girl in the picture began emerging from within. Both the demon and the girl were screaming, obviously in pain, but I knew that it would not stop unless I completed the ritual._

_When they were finally separate, the gate began pulling, sucking the demon towards it. Both Trish and myself felt the pull as well, being devilish; our hair and my coat flapped wildly towards the vortex as I continued my recitation. The human girl in the bed was completely still, unaffected by the gate. Her mother moved towards her, but Trish caught her, trying to keep her out of the way until it could be finished. She did not catch the priest, however, who ran forward to grab the girl._

_The demon used the distraction to snatch the girl._

_"No!" I snarled, before I could stop myself. The portal tore open instead of continuing its slow dilation. I leapt onto the bed after them. I knew that I needed to retrieve the girl before the unnatural rip snapped shut. I landed gracefully and started after the demon, noticing the she-devil land just after me. She had Force Edge, my father's sword, which I knew Dante had given her some time ago._

_I sent a blue summoned sword at the demon's face, causing it to throw the girl. I caught her in air, rolling both of us away from the demon. Trish dropped the blade and picked up the girl. I distracted the demon with a few attacks, but I had no intention of fighting it, as we were pressed for time by the closing rip._

_"Run for the portal, beat that thing there!" I told her. I caught the demon with some phantom blades, halting its progress. Trish hesitated only a moment._

_"I will be right behind you, now go you infernal she-devil!"_

_She nodded, carrying the girl towards the portal. I was catching up to her when she put the girl down, bidding her to go through the portal so she could help me fight. The human nodded and weakly made her way forward, but I caught her in my arms and passed her off to the she-devil once more._

_"Take her through, Trish!" I commanded. "You are unarmed!" She finally ran for the rip, and deposited the girl into her mother's arms. She turned to come back to me, but stopped as she saw I was running for the ever-shrinking portal as well._

_I didn't know the demon was still close behind until I felt its needle-like claws rip through my back. I whirled, using Force Edge to attack it, instead of summoning Yamato. I recklessly lunged at the demon's chest, stabbing it through the heart, feeling its claws pierce through me as well. It fell, never to get up, and I tried to stumble my way to the gate._

My marshmallow is going to be angry at the condition I'm coming home to her in._ I smiled at thought of my pretty, petite wife scolding and cursing at me for being so wounded. I fell, and the she-devil stepped through, but I did not want her trapped._

_"Stay put!" I rose, marshaling my strength to trigger for the speed it would grant me, but I fell instead. The last thing I saw was the look of horror on Trish's face as the portal sealed over._

_I came back to consciousness when I felt hands on my body. I grabbed for Force Edge, but I couldn't find it where I knew it had dropped. A pair of male faces came into view, and two scents, one human and one slightly demonic, assaulted my nose._

_"I think he's awake, sir."_

_"G-G-Good. I b-b-believe that he will b-be a gr-greater as-s-sset alive than d-d-d-d-d-dead. D-D-D-Did you recover the s-sword?"_

_"No, sir. I found only the sealed blade of the Savior, but not the katana this one is reputed to have."_

_"P-P-P-Pity. Perhaps he lost it, or it was t-t-t-t-t-t-t-taken from him by the other. No m-m-matter. We shall get him b-b-b-back to the lab, and b-b-b-begin research with him. Having the flesh and b-b-blood of our b-b-belovéd Savior will exp-p-p-pedite things greatly!"_

_I did not fully understand the implications of their conversation, but I knew I must endeavor to escape. I began struggling against the bonds I found around my hands and feet. The larger and older of the two men, the one who smelled demonic, spoke again._

_"Th-th-that will d-d-do you little g-g-g-g-good, S-S-S-S-Savior's s-s-s-s-son. Whatever you were fighting with was p-p-p-poisonous. It's v-venom has so p-p-p-ermeated your s-s-system I was s-surprised you lived. No matter. Even your s-strength and healing won't be quick enough. We will have you s-s-s-securely in the lab b-b-before you are even a challenge for my young as-s-ssistant." He laughed as though this amused him greatly, more so as I continued to struggle._

_When I found my efforts were indeed futile, I stopped, determined to gather my strength and await the moment to escape. I fell unconscious instead, and when next I woke, Mara was standing above me._

* * *

I had been rather entranced by Vergil's recounting, but I was surprised at how much everyone else had been.

"Well, Pop. How about we try once more?" Dante said, turning to Sparda yet again. "What now?"

"Lead us, Savior! Let us begin the transformation of the world under your rule!" one knight called from bended knee. I glanced at Credo, who seemed to be scrutinizing the object of the Order's plans in a none too flattering way.

Sparda smiled. "I'm sorry that you have gone through so much trouble to bring me back here, because I have absolutely no desire or intention to rule. I gave up those ambitions long ago, in favor of letting humanity come into its own. I do wish to thank you for the opportunity to have seen my sons once again, and to have met my grandson and daughter."

Credo nodded thoughtfully, as though he had been expecting this answer.

"Capture the Savior, kill the rest," he ordered.


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N: **__So, here it is, the last chapter, although there is an epilogue for a few wrap-up details. I hope this doesn't disappoint, although I have fire-retardant suits and plate armor ready for torches and pitchforks. Bring it on._

_The epilogue is a different part, the last, obviously, and will have a new POV._

_Language, violence._

_Jimli ;P_

**Disclaimer: **_I don't have any rights to Devil May Cry, only lefts._

* * *

**Mission Select - Part V**

**Mission 10: Strange Fate**

"Sorry, Mom," Nero said as he flexed his demon hand. A larger, ghostly version of it grabbed and deposited me in a far corner of the room. He drew the large sword he'd used for the ritual, glaring murderously at Credo.

The knights had risen, changed, and drawn swords, rather cautiously approaching the four devils. A quick head count yielded about twenty, including Credo.

Credo ... that hurt; realizing that all those years he had known that my mate, Nero's father, was alive. He had been compliant in my capture as well, and poor Nero had never known what had happened to me. I shook my head, watching the scene before me unfold.

A few of the knights had approached Dante, circling him like vultures. He produced a wicked-looking whip from nowhere and snapped it around him, striking all the knights in quick succession. Once they were stunned, he summoned out a three-ended nunchuck and used it to beat the nearest knight mercilessly about the head. He fell, his face literally frozen. A knight slightly behind Dante charged him with his sword leveled at Dante's torso. He twisted gracefully, rotating into the knight's guard and punching him soundly in the face. I heard the crunch of breaking bones from across the room, and the knight dropped lifelessly. The third retreated, but not quickly enough. Dante drew Rebellion, and thrust it forward, his entire weight behind the forward motion. The knight was duly impaled then tossed to the floor, where Dante drove his heel into the knight's chest. He looked around expectantly.

"Who's next?"

I glanced at Vergil, noticing for the first time he was wearing white. He was coolly cutting down a knight, another two on the floor behind him. A fourth was coming from his side, but before I could call out, he summoned a chained blade, swinging it in an arc towards the knight. The blade caught him just above the collar, piercing through his neck. Vergil twitched his wrist, and the blade slid out, jumping back into his hand. The knight gurgled once, then fell.

Movement diverted my attention to Sparda, who was almost playfully sparring with two knights simultaneously. Even I could tell that he was toying with them, barely defending himself, and not attacking. It was like he was giving a lesson. He backed one into Dante's reach, however, and the knight found himself assaulted by a much more aggressive opponent.

I searched around for Nero, then spotted him intensely taking on Credo one-to-one. They were fighting viciously, attacking each other with a ferocity bordering on hatred. As angry as I was at Credo, it broke my heart to see them fighting, knowing they were intent on killing each other. What happened to the two boys I remembered so well? They had been so close, nearly brothers, and now they were dueling with murderous intent.

I saw another knight fall to Vergil's chained blade and heard an unfamiliar voice cry out. The knight Sparda had been fencing with had pursued his opponent too recklessly and received the devil's blade through the heart. Dante, now wearing some crackling gauntlets, punched his knight in the chest with two fingers, unbelievably sending him flying towards the purple clad devil, who sliced the unfortunate knight as he passed in mid-air.

I was somewhat stunned by the violence, but I was more shocked by the _casualness_ of it. All four of the white haired men were fighting and killing without hesitation. For the first time, I was seeing the part of Vergil's life he had never fully shared, and I could see why he hadn't. I shook off my thoughts, watching as Sparda once again took on two opponents.

These two had obviously paid attention during his last spar because they were a lot more cautious and put more effort into working together, switching between alternate attacks and team tactics. He accordingly stepped up his own game, but seemingly still only doing what was necessary to prevent their attacks from doing him damage.

Gunshots blasted through the air, and I whipped my gaze towards Dante. He had a matched set of guns, relentlessly firing at a pair of knights who had been trying to double team him. Their bodies jerked with every shot, and he pulled Rebellion once more to finish each of them off.

I looked for Vergil again and watched as he clashed swords with a much more skilled opponent than the ones he'd fought previously. The knight made swing after swing, each one blocked by Yamato. The knight backed up a few steps, pacing around, then lunged at Vergil, almost untraceable with his speed. Vergil disappeared, reappearing above and to the left of the knight. He shot downward at an angle, slamming his opponent into the floor with jarring force. He sprang off the unfortunate man and took his stance again, but the knight never rose.

A young voice, Nero's, I realized with fear, cried out in pain. I jerked my attention towards my son and saw that he was clutching his left arm with his glowing right hand. The sword he'd been wielding was lying on the floor as though he'd dropped it. Credo thrust with his sword, and Nero dodged, deflecting the sword point with his demonic arm. His hand assumed the oversized, ghostly aura, and he grabbed Credo, much more forcefully than he had me, and threw him bodily across the room. He crashed with a grunt into an unfortunate knight who had just dodged a swing of Dante's whip. The weapon sailed past the two of them and caught one of the knights still dueling Sparda, knocking him flat. Sparda used the distraction to stab the other one and moved in on the one prone on the floor. That knight quickly rolled out of the way and rose, taking a stance once again.

"Dante, Vergil," Sparda called. Both men glanced at him briefly, then turned back to their respective opponents. "The amulets?"

Dante roundhouse kicked the knight he was now facing and used the window of time provided by his fall to fish out a large gem on a chain from around his neck, which he then threw to his father.

Vergil gave his new opponent a quick, vicious three hit succession with first the sheath, then the blade before drawing a similar looking necklace from beneath his collar. I recognized it as the one I'd given to Nero a long time ago, but I didn't bother asking why Vergil now had it. A sparkle of blue caught the light as it sailed towards Sparda, who gave it a quick glance before mating it to Dante's. They came together in a floating, rotating dance while Sparda deftly dodged sword attacks, as he tossed his sword towards the amulets. All three disappeared in a brilliant flash of white, then a gruesome, organic looking sword slowly came into his reach. He grabbed it and gave it a harsh flick, turning it into a spear which he promptly plunged into his awestruck opponent.

Vergil slashed his knight with a deep stroke across the chest. Blood spurted from the cut, and the knight fell to the floor.

Dante slammed his three-headed weapon into the floor causing a large pillar of ice to form under his opponent, freezing him solid.

Sparda rushed another knight with his spear, obviously tired of playing around with them. He caught the guy before he could react, and the Order member fell lifelessly.

I looked at all the fallen, trying to count. I frowned, not seeing the last knight.

"Ha!" came a voice in my ear as I was grabbed from behind. "Stay back!" the knight called to the men. Dante had a contemptuous sneer across his features; Vergil's handsome face was marred by an ugly, murderous look. Sparda had an expression of mild disdain. Nero became wildly distracted, cursing colorfully. Even Credo was frowning, though he focused on keeping my son from coming to my aid.

"I would release her if I were you," Vergil warned, his voice low and menacing.

"If you make a move, she's as good as dead!" the knight responded, panic tingeing his voice.

Vergil smiled in a cold, heartless expression I had rarely seen before, so different from the warm curve of his lips I was used to seeing.

"I don't have to, fool," he replied. Before the knight could even ask, I threw my elbow into his soft parts, and smashed his foot with my heel. He released me in his pain, and I ducked out of his reach as he grabbed for me again. Gunfire sounded, and I looked to the knight. Several blue glowing swords with two distinctive designs had pierced him, as well as a handful of bullets. He fell twitching, and I looked back at Vergil, smiling shakily.

"And you said those self-defense classes were a foolish waste," I chided. He shrugged.

"It was inevitable that I be wrong once in my life, Marshmallow."

"Are you all right, Mom?" Nero called.

"I'm fine," I answered back. "Credo?"

He glanced at me.

"I believe all your crew is dead, Credo," I said. "Can we stop this nonsense now?"

He looked around as Dante, Vergil, and Sparda encircled him and Nero. He lowered his weapon slowly.

"You don't understand," he said softly. "We were trying to provide the world with its Savior, to protect and benefit all of us."

"Protect it from what?" Dante snarked. "The only threat we've seen here has been the Order's doing. For the supposed sake of peace and safety, you people forcibly imprisoned one of its greatest protectors, endangered the lives of thousands on this island, unleashed devils with your open Hell Gates, captured and held your own foster mother, manipulated your foster brother, deceived your sister, lied to those whom you claimed you wanted to protect, caused the death of an old, powerful devil ally of humanity, coercively brought back humanity's most revered hero to utilize him in your twisted schemes, and sent dozens of your own followers to their deaths. Last time I took accounts, that makes your Order the bad guys."

Credo looked at each of us in turn and nodded in defeat.

"You are correct; the actions we have taken are monstrous." He knelt and laid his sword in front of his knees. "I suppose the only question is who has the greatest right to my death."

"Fuck that," Vergil snapped. We all looked at him, shocked at his vulgarity. Vergil's no prude, but he rarely is so blunt in his crudity.

"I am not going to let you opt out of your mess! I don't know how many Order members there are left, nor does it matter. The Order of the Sword has given enough grief to this island and my father's bloodline. We are _not_ going to be responsible for cleaning this up, and then take the blame for your destruction in the eyes of those who still believe in you. I, especially will not be involved; I am taking three days off, as I promised my wife, plus my accumulated vacation time from the past nineteen years."

"One week per year plus every other birthday," Dante acknowledged. "Twenty weeks and five days vacation, but if you include your spawn's birthdays, you have twenty-three weeks and three days. Can't properly add in anniversaries, because we don't know when that would have happened."

Vergil nodded and turned to me, his expression softening instantly. "Come Marshmallow, let's go home. We have twenty-three weeks and three days to spend without the interference of my job."

"What about your father and your brother?"

"I assure you, they will have nothing to do with my plans."

I heard a strangled gurgle come from Nero, but I frowned. "That's not what I meant."

Sparda shrugged. "To be blunt, I intend to go back where I was. There is little appeal in this world for me now. My spawn are fine men, everything my lady and I would have expected from our sons. I have had the pleasure of meeting the fiery, spirited human my cool, reserved elder son chose for a mate. I have had the honor of fighting alongside my grandson, who also appears to be everything I could have hoped. I believe I need not remind you that I don't truly belong here anymore, and there is a great motive for returning to my peace." He smiled, and I saw a light in his eyes that I had seen in my Yakuza's many times. He grew serious again, turning back to his twin sons. "I would ask that you leave me to destroy this lab."

Dante walked over to his father. "There are a few things I want from you first, Pop." He held out his hands. "I want my amulet, Force Edge, and a real goodbye this time."

"I wish I could, nestling. Unfortunately, I need my full power and this sword."

"Whatever, old man," Dante answered flippantly, turning his back on the older devil.

Nero grunted, obviously amused over something. He turned to Credo, who was still kneeling, and offered him his demonic right hand.

"You coming, or what? I'm sure Kyrie's getting worried by now, both of us gone all day, overnight and now all morning."

"You aren't going to kill me?"

Nero snorted. "I told you in the library why I didn't, and Dante didn't then, either, probably because I didn't, right old man?"

Dante nodded.

"You did not die by either of our hands in the scientist's office at Headquarters, knight, and I have already told you I want to hold you accountable for all of this," Vergil added.

Credo looked at Sparda. "And you, Savior? Why spare me?"

"I have little taste for executions, despite the unfortunate event earlier." He indicated the oozing, bloody mess in the back that had once been Agnus and Sanctus. I am also quite divorced from the human world and am more than willing to leave those decisions to my spawn, as part of my legacy."

"Great," Dante muttered. "More responsibility."

Credo turned towards me. I shrugged.

"I've never once let you off the hook for something you've done, Credo, not since you were a teenager. Why start now?"

He looked back to Nero's still waiting hand and grabbed his wrist. Nero hoisted him upright.

"You can explain to Kyrie first," Nero informed him. They exchanged a doomed sort of look, then started towards the door side-by-side. Vergil slid his arm around my waist, escorting me to the entrance with Dante right behind us. I paused and looked over my shoulder at the purple clad devil still standing in the center of the lab, his odd sword gripped in his white gloved hand.

"If for whatever reason, your plan doesn't work, you always have a home with us." I glanced at Vergil. "If that's okay by you, too."

Vergil nodded.

Sparda inclined his head. "It would be my pleasure to be your guest."

"No," I corrected, "not guest. You're family, too."

I faced forward again as Vergil squeezed me a little tighter to himself, and we followed our spawn out of that wretched place.

"My dearly belovéd Yakuza," I drawled. "What on earth are you wearing, by the way?"

Vergil glanced down at the stuffy, gold-trimmed white coat he had on with distaste.

"It was available."

He looked at Credo, an eyebrow arched. Credo cocked his head a moment, then approached a panel of the wall of the front lab. He pressed on it, and it clicked, opening to reveal a modest-sized closet. He rummaged through lab coats, aprons, and Order uniforms, finally extracting a garment bag from the back. He handed it wordlessly to Vergil and closed the panel.

"You could have saved me some trauma if you and Mara had ransacked the place before leaving," Nero grumbled. "At least then I would have only seen Mom's pictures in your sketchbook and your father naked."

Dante stopped, a sympathetic look on his face. "You want me to strip, kid, so you can have the whole collection?"

Nero blanched, horrified, and we walked the rest of the way barely suppressing laughter.

As we reached the entrance of Academy, a great crashing noise came from within, sobering the mood instantly. We all turned and watched as part of the building collapsed on itself, no doubt burying Sparda under tons of rubble and debris.

Dante turned away, hiding his face, but Vergil watched until the dust cloud settled, and I saw a single tear trickle down his cheek.

" 'And the rest is silence,' " Vergil intoned softly.


	25. Chapter 25

**My cat ate my disclaimer. (BAD KITTY!)**

* * *

**Total Result - Part VI**

**Epilogue**

Total Result

I had been so worried about them. Nero had been out of the house before dawn yesterday, without even saying where he was going, and with his arm still injured from his fight with those demons. Credo had left on Order business after breakfast; he had been so distracted with it and Nero's disappearance he barely said two words to me. I spent the day at school worried about the two of them.

Some knights came through town just after I arrived home from school, telling us that there had been an attack at Academy, and that some knights had been injured, but not killed. They told everyone to stay in their homes and asked all knights not already out to join the ranks.

"Have you seen Credo or Nero?" I asked. They exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kyrie, but we weren't told what was going on exactly. Neither of them were among the knights we sent to the infirmary." I vaguely recognized the lieutenant who answered, he was in my brother's personal squad, but I couldn't recall his name. Badgering the two of them didn't reveal anything more, however, and they finally got away from me, saying they had more houses to visit. The town seemed just as peaceful as always, and I wondered what sort of demons would attack Academy instead of going for the townspeople. Nothing about it made any sense.

I tried all night to find someone to tell me where my brother and Nero were, and what was going on, but they either wouldn't or couldn't. Finally His Holiness ordered a couple of knights to stand guard at our house to keep me from wandering the town looking for them.

The tricks Nero and I had used as a kid to leave when we were in trouble didn't work, either; I was caught every time and kindly asked to stay put, that news would be delivered to me as soon as someone had it.

I went to Aunt Jade's room, like I used to before she disappeared. Any time I was upset, I could go into her room; if she wasn't there at first, I'd wait for her. She'd ask me what was wrong, hold me, give me her advice, and make me feel better. Afterwards, she'd reach into her jewelry box and fish out a peppermint for each of us.

I went over to the box where she had kept the peppermints. I had eaten them all after she'd disappeared, trying to get the same comfort from them. It hadn't worked, and I had felt so badly about eating all of her peppermints that I robbed my kitty-bank to buy another bag. Eventually, those were eaten, too, and I'd just kept buying more, keeping them in her room, eating one when I was upset.

One of the drawers of her jewelry box was ajar, and I opened it to see if anything was missing. At first, I couldn't see anything out-of-place, but then I noticed her blue heart pendant was gone.

Nero, Credo, and I had bought it for her one year; Nero had insisted it be blue, and he'd been right: Aunt Jade had loved it.

Although I'd never noticed the drawer askew before, the necklace must have been gone since she had disappeared. I sighed. I had thought about giving it to my daughter, when Nero finally screwed up his courage to ask me to marry him and we had kids.

I got my peppermint out and sucked on it, wondering where Nero and Credo were, what they were doing, and if they were okay.

I woke up still in Aunt Jade's room. I ran downstairs to see if they were back.

"Credo? Nero?" I checked every room, then opened the door to ask the knights if they'd heard anything yet, but no one was on the porch, either.

I went back inside, showered and changed. I noticed it was mid-morning when I came back downstairs. I heard a crash outside and ran out of the house. I could see the great cloud of dust above Academy.

"Credo…Nero…" I ran through town, panicked and afraid. There was a small group of people in front of Academy, watching as the clouds settled. Two of them were wearing the white coats of knights, three of them had white hair, including one of the knights. _Nero? _The darker haired knight turned, and I recognized my brother.

"Credo!" I cried out, and all of them turned to look at me. My brother stiffened somewhat when I hugged him, but I didn't care. I was relieved to see him, although he looked like he'd been fighting demons, with the blood and dirt all over his uniform.

"Kyrie?" Nero's voice called. I turned to look at the group more closely. Two of the white-haired men were identical, except for their clothes, Nero was standing near the one in the white coat, and there was a woman. My eyes went wide, and my heart skipped.

"Aunt Jade?"

She smiled. "Hiya, sweetie. You've grown into quite the beauty, haven't you?"

One of the men was holding Aunt Jade around the waist. I looked from one of them to the other, trying to determine who they could be. I looked back at Credo and Nero.

"Can someone please explain what's going on? _Right now._"

The one wearing red…_leather?..._laughed. "So this is your redheaded girlfriend? I'm surprised she hasn't eaten you alive, kid!"

I frowned at him. "I don't know who-"

"Kyrie," Nero interrupted. "Meet my uncle, Dante. He's a wiseass, a royal pain, and he doesn't know how to keep his mouth from running at both ends." Nero paused. "He also helped me rescue Mom and Dad."

"Dad?"

He nodded, pointing at the other man. "This is my father, Vergil."

My eyes widened at the sight of Nero's hand. "Nero, are you all right?" He jerked his hand out of sight, not looking at me. Vergil scrutinized me for a moment, then gave me a smile.

"You are Nero Angelo's mate? He has excellent taste."

Aunt Jade poked him in the side. "That's not really flattering, my Yakuza." She smiled, pulling away from him to come to me. She put her arms around me in a hug.

"It is so good to see you again, Kyrie. How about we head home and I'll explain what I can? I don't know everything, though."

I nodded. "Is it over? The fight? Is everyone okay?"

They exchanged looks, and Vergil answered me. "Your question is somewhat more complicated to answer than you might believe. When we have returned to your home, we can explain fully."

I nodded again.

Hours later, sitting in our kitchen after the whole tale had been related, I looked from face to face. Each one had contributed their part to the story, some of it known to the others, some of it was as new to them as it was to me.

"So, what will we do now?" I asked.

"The remaining knights, if there are any, shall live up to my promise to Vergil: we shall repair the damage caused by our actions, and endeavor to rid the island of the remaining demons and Hell Gates."

"There are at least two knights left, Credo," Nero said softly. "You and I. I did my part in this mess, I want to make it right."

"I have a shop to get back to, if those crazy women haven't bled my accounts dry and liquidated the rest," Dante answered.

"I have a promise to keep, and twenty-three weeks and three days of vacation in which to do so," Vergil replied.

"Good luck with that, I'm staying here to take care of the kids," Aunt Jade commented, a smile on her face. Vergil frowned.

"They are _grown_, and I have been without sex for 18 years and six months. If you want to spend time with children, we'll start with fresh nestlings." He kissed her. "Agreed?" He kissed her again.

I giggled when I saw how embarrassed Nero was.

"I think they're cute, Nero," I told him. I looked out the window.

"It's pretty late, and I didn't sleep much last night." I giggled. "I guess none of us did, except Aunt Jade. Dante, you can have my room tonight."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll crash on your couch."

"Where is your room, Marshmallow?" Vergil asked. Aunt Jade frowned.

"I'm not su-"

"So help me, you'd better not say this is not a good idea," he growled. She laughed, shaking her head, but everyone else looked confused. She stood, leading him upstairs, still laughing.

* * *

I found myself in the halls of the house I'd lived in as a child with my brother and mother. I have rarely dreamed of this place as an adult, so I instantly went on guard. A deep chuckle sounded from behind me, and I turned to see my father in his true visage. I looked at myself and saw that I, too, had my devil form.

"We are sweven, then," I commented. He nodded.

"I thought I would return those things your brother wanted, as well as these." He held out Force Edge and Dante's amulet in one hand, and my own amulet and a small, blue crystal heart pendant in the other.

"I'm not sure how the pendant came to be in your amulet, though I suspect your nestling had something to do with it. I don't need these things now, and they do not belong to me. I did not wish to expend my energy to do this more than once. Please explain that to you brother for me."

"He rarely has the mindset or patience for this anyway," I replied, taking the items from him.

My father smiled, nodding. "I must go, nestling. Milady sends her love to you all."

I nodded and watched as white light filled the hall. I closed my eyes against the glare, and when I opened them, I was awake in bed next to my mate. I gave her a kiss on the temple and slipped the heart into her hand. She barely stirred, but she didn't awaken.

After dressing, I went downstairs to find Nero Angelo and Kyrie cooking breakfast. The depth of their relationship was obvious, and I wondered if the girl would have the patience to wait for him to ask, or simply demand he marry her.

"Have you seen Dante, Nero Angelo?"

He shook his head, but she supplied the answer.

"I think he said something about going for a walk." She frowned. "Why do you call Nero by his middle name, too?"

"That is how he called himself to me when we met in sweven." I tossed the amulet to my nestling before heading towards the door.

"I thought that Sparda had used that to transform his sword," Kyrie asked. I paused briefly, the dream flooding to mind again.

"He returned everything to me last night in sweven," I told her softly.

I went into town, believing that I would find my twin at Academy. He glanced at me over his shoulder, his expression hard. I knew he'd been upset, just as he had yesterday, but I said nothing.

"Father wished to return these, as well as give us Mother's regards." I handed him the sword and amulet. He took both wordlessly. We stood in silence for a moment as he absorbed Force Edge and fastened the chain around his neck. When he turned to face me again, he had the usual grin on his face.

"So, that cute little redhead get breakfast done? I was disappointed that she'd just started when I left."

"She and Nero Angelo were still cooking when I left." I hesitated for a moment.

"When you return to Capulet, I wish to accompany you. I would like to speak to Trish."

He nodded, a more serious light in his eyes. "That drawing isn't Mom, is it?"

"No," I answered. "When did you know?"

"When the kid showed it to me. I didn't know what it meant, though, until you told Credo about your last mission."

"I see."

"I bought it, you know. The house you showed me. I was going to give it to the two of you as a wedding present. Even told my agent to buy it discreetly, so you wouldn't know it was me. too bad you ruined that surprise."

I blinked at him, touched. "Do you still own it?"

"Unless Lady sold it for clothes money," he snarked. "Let's get back before that kid eats all the breakfast, Verge."

"Indeed."

* * *

_**A/N: **__I hope that this epilogue lives up to whatever promise the story had made to everyone. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, favorited, or even sneezed at this tale._

_A special thanks to Winged Element, plavo-sunce, SirenaLoreley, and ZomPan (sorry dude, too lazy to type it all out) for the reviews and PMs that led to inspiring ideas for the story, both big and small. :)_

_An especially big, heartfelt thanks to Be Rose, for the beta work, mistake police force, and the Socratic method. :D_

_Jimli ;P_


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